Cebu into National U17 finals

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CEBU IN FINALS: The Cebu FA U17 is in the national finals. Will they win it all? Or will it be just like the U19, where they lost a disappointing finals match.
Sun*Star photo Ruel Rusillo

DESPITE a 7-0 beating from powerhouse Iloilo, the Cebu Football Association Under-17 squad landed in the top two to qualify to the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) U-17 National Championships later this year.

In its opening game, the CebuFA selection defeated host Dumaguete, 3-2, before that fateful encounter with Iloilo.

Iloilo then dealt the hosts a 4-0 defeat to finish first in the Visayas Regional Championships, held last May 18-20.

Only three teams joined the regionals, after Bacolod failed to field a team in the event organized in lieu of the Coke Go-For-Goal U-16 National Championships, which was scrapped last year due to financial reasons.

Though they are already in the finals, the CebuFA selection is still not sure whether there will be a national finals at all.

“During the managers meeting, we were told that there will be a national tournament later this year and this will be held in the Visayas if there are any bids for it,” CebuFA coach Glen Ramos said.

Whether their will be a nationals or not, CebuFA president Jonathan Maximo said the team will be kept intact as they are being groomed to play in other age-group tournaments in the following years.

The team includes Jose Paolo Pascual, Roy Joseph Sembrano and Benedict Luis Arriola of Paref-Springdale, Josephus Bernaldez, James Candido, Ric Ryan Fuentes and Don Francois Noel of Sacred Heart School-Jesuit (SHS-J), Jose Jordan Diao, Jessie Roy Melgo II and Howard Dwight Docino of Abellana National School.

Also in the team are Pomposo Atillo, Gene Manuel Gacayan III, Kyle Vincent Soriano of Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC), Michael Sharpe of Cebu International School (CIS) and Jonathan Tan of the University of Southern Philippines.

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