The much awaited championship showdown between fierce football rivals, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) and Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) Team A will finally take center stage today at the conclusion of the first leg of the Cebu Liga 2002 at the PAREF Springdale football pitch, Cebu city.
The championship match is set at 3 p.m. while the battle for third place between PAREF Springdale against the Don Bosco Boys Home is set at 2:30 in the afternoon.
SHS-AdC clinched a finals berth last March 5 when they routed PAREF Springdale, at the latter’s own turf, 2-1, while DBTC edged fellow Bosconian team Don Bosco Boys Home of Lilo-an town, by nthe same score.
Unlike in other tournaments where these two teams clashed, today’s gold medal match will be featuring an 11-aside format, the standard format of football with 60 minutes of playing time. The last time these two squads clashed in an 11-aside competition was last year when DBTC beat SHS-AdC to bag the under-15 boys division title in the 17th Aboitiz Football Cup at the latter’s turf in Canduman, Mandaue City.
SHS-AdC will be led by its ace booter Ethan Deller who scored an equalizer against PAREF Springdale to force an extension in their semifinal showdown. He will be backed by Damascus Shields and Sydney Kamichi.
DBTC A meanwhile, will rely on Luis Buyco and Josh Asignar with support coming from their semifinal heroes Yuan Reña and Paul Vincent Mapula.
A total of eight teams competed in the month long tournament which aims to develop under-14 football teams to play in the standard 11-aside format.