There’s a new champ in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) football. And they’re aptly clad in gold.
The University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters reaffirmed their mastery of the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars yesterday, beating the latter again, 1-0 in a cardiac penalty shoot-out to capture their first football title since 2010 also at the expense of USJ-R.
This time though, the Webmasters had to go through the proverbial eye of the needle after both the regulation and extension period ended with nary a goal.
After scoring their first five attempts in the shoot-out, UC went 6-5 up on Ralph Eben Plaza’s goal which escaped USJ-R goal keeper, Luke Kyle Amaba. UC then officially annexed the crown when goal keeper Arvin Perez successfully deflected Jason Calunsag’s game-tying attempt.
“Before Calunsag made his attempt, I told Perez that USJ-R players usually kick the ball to the right side that’s why he was able to perfectly anticipate the direction of the shot,” said UC’s head coach Glenn Ramos.
UC’s win is considered an upset since USJ-R was the top-ranked team in the tournament even though the Webmasters have beaten them twice in the preliminary round.
Both teams displayed superb defensive and offensive plays all throughout the match with UC having the most goal attempts.
“It was an even match. I was really impressed by USJ-R’s defense that’s why we kept on making adjustments in both ends,” said Ramos. “We had several chances to score but USJ–R’s defense was really admirable.”
Ramos also revealed that his team spent extra time during their training to practice a shoot-out scenario which paid big time in the finals.
Ramos of the Cebu Football Association (CFA) will soon start the selection process for UC’s eight players that he will select for the Philippine Football Federation (PFF)-Smart U-22 National
Championships slated this year. Ramos said that the other members of the squad will come from the other schools.
Meanwhile, the University of San Carlos (USC) bagged the third place trophy after beating UV, 1-0, on Roy Joseph Melgo’s goal.
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