Cebu Football

( This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Oct. 31 issue ) TWO weeks ago, Cebu Queen City United was looking forward to the next round of qualifiers of the PFF Smart Cup after routing Hijos, 8-1, in the first round. Then Global FC comes in the picture and tears Hijos apart, 23-0, and Cebu's fate now hinges on the match against one of the top teams in the country.  There's no final date yet but there's a good chance it would happen here.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Oct. 28 issue) THOUGH primarily intended to protect the LBGT community, the Anti-Discrimination ordinance of the Cebu City Council may also affect the way sports events are conducted, even perhaps, the actions of some sports fans, too. The bill says, “It is hereby prohibited to discriminate any person and/or group of persons on the basis of their disability, age, health status, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity and religion.” How would that affect sports?

IT seems, the issue of who has the right to represent which FA in a national tournament has never been resolved.  Then, it was case of players who play in the elimination round of one FA, representing another FA in the regional finals, and yet another FA in the national finals.

BACK in 2011, I joined a group of fans as we watched, on live TV, and cringed at how Stallion FC ran aground Cebu Queen City United, 8-0, in its final game of the UFL Cup. There’s no mincing words and it was ugly. Coach Mario Ceniza told me a few weeks after that game that it was the worst beating in his career, one that couldn’t be forgotten.

THE Cebu football scene is expected to pick up pace anew with a very busy November. The Aboitiz Football Cup, one of the country’s longest continuous 11-a-side tournaments, will open its 16th edition on Nov. 10 with 14 divisions, including an exclusive one for employees. From holding just the men’s open when it started, the Aboitiz Cup, bankrolled by the Aboitiz Group, will have the mixed Under 7, Under 9 and Under 11 divisions, and the boys and girls Under 13, Under 15 and Under 18. It will also have the Boys Under 23, the Inter BPO/Inter Company, Ladies Open, Men’s Open and the 38-above division. This year’s tournament, which will be played on weekends, is expected to last until March.

WHEN we made it to the top three in Southeast Asia in the Fifa men’s rankings in April, 2012, I thought then that it didn’t mean that we were the third-best team in Asia. We were simply busier than the other teams and if we meet traditional powerhouse like Indonesia and Malaysia, who were ranked below us, they were still the favorites. That was then.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu on Oct. 17. Pardon the interrupted flow, but this was twice interrupted by an aftershock) STEPHAN Schrock plies his trade for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, one of the top leagues in the world, and he could teach a few folks here a thing or two about national duties. No, it’s not about how he routinely mocks the defense with his ridiculous skills but how he views his duties for the national team.

THE Second Sun.Star Football Cup will be on Nov. 23 and 24 still at the Cebu City Sports Center. Just like last year, which attracted over 150 teams, this year’s tournament will only have the age group divisions and not the men’s and women’s opens.

(This column came out in the Oct. 5 edition of Sun.Star Cebu ) I THINK the basketball gods put on the Green Lancers’ cap the past few days, and in homage to the time of the UV’s reign as Cebu’s best basketball squad, joined the Throwback Thursday craze as they watched UV reclaim the title. With the title on the line, and the fans packed to the rafters at the derelict Cebu Coliseum, the scoreboard and shot clock went bonkers, postponing Game 5 for a couple of hours. That delay was a first in Cesafi history.