Cebu Football

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 31 edition) College standings as of Aug. 30 Team W D L P GD USJR 3 - - 9 6 UC         2 1 - 7 5 UV         1 1 2 4 -5 USPF - 1 2 1 -2 USC    - 1 2 1 -3 IF THERE was one thing that highlighted the match between the University of San Carlos and the University of Cebu, which ended in a 0-0 draw, it's one that happened off field and not on it. In the middle of the second half, Jules Villahermosa of USC lay hobbled and had to be carried off to the sideline, and while the focus of the USC coaching staff and bench players was on their side of the field, UC head coach Glenn Ramos got his pain reliever, sprayed some on Villahermosa and even massaged the USC midfielder's injured knee. He only stopped when the ball got to the UC side of the field.

(This report was published in Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 30 edition ) College standings (As of Aug. 29) Team       W     D     L     P   GD USJR       2       -      -      6    +3 UC           1       1     -      4     +4 UV           1       1    1      4     -2 USPF       -       1     1     1     -1 USC        -        1     2     1     -3 SACRED Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu stripped Don Bosco Technological Center of its veil of invincibility with a 1-0 escape, while the University of San Carlos kissed it’s title defense goodbye in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. football tournament at the Cebu City Sports Center. SHS-Ateneo, which lost last year’s finals despite taking the lead against Don Bosco, now has six points on two wins but still trails rival Don Bosco on goal difference.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 29 edition) LAST year, in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. college football finals, the University of San Carlos passed a stringent test of character by overcoming a one-goal deficit to beat upstart University of Southern Philippines Foundation via shootout. This year, the defending champion is 0-2 in its first two games, and in the lone half that I was able to watch, I was impressed with how the Golden Booters seem to toy around the University of the Visayas--the Cesafi’s presumed whipping boy--before taking a 1-0 lead at halftime.

NO offense to the other teams, but we all know that when it comes to Cesafi high school football, the title is almost always a battle between two schools--Don Bosco Technological Center and Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu. If I remember it right, both teams have won three titles each at each other’s expense since 2010, and each final is always fierce but played fairly. Both teams, too, have their own solid following from their alumni who always turn up for the matches. In last year’s final, Sacred Heart took the lead in the first half but conceded two goals in a three-minute span in the second to lose, 2-1.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 26 edition) RECENT developments in the political landscape in Cebu, reminded me of a time when local football, even Philippine football, was like that; when swing votes were crucial and the numbers game was all that matters. Hardly would a PFF president warm his seat when he faces an ouster movement, or in the case of Cebu, disgruntled members would be plotting their numbers years before the election.  Now, brave is the soul who would challenge PFF president Nonong Araneta, while CFA president Ricky Dakay is enjoying unprecedented unity in the board, too.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 24 edition) THE University of San Carlos avoided an off-field embarrassment only to stumble on-field in the opening round of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. football tournament at the Cebu City Sports Center last Saturday. The defending champions faced the prospect of having their first game forfeited because the Golden booters still didn’t have their new uniforms! And Cesafi rules bar a team from playing sans a uniform, as what the CEC Dragons learned in volleyball against the SHS-Ateneo de Cebu. How embarrassing, losing a game because you don’t have uniforms.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 22 edition) THE residency rule in school leagues is one rule that I really disagree with and wish that would be abolished. What’s worse is that the school leagues seem to copy each other’s moves and here in Cebu, the Cesafi is no exception, having extended the one-year waiting period to two when the Manila leagues extended theirs. Now, the UAAP is in the news again, for all the wrong reasons and this time, the Cesafi is spared because this is a case where the Cebu-league has done it right and the Manila leagues should follow its example.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 20 edition) THE Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. football season opens this Saturday, and unlike last year’s edition, this year’s competition promises to be an exciting affair due to a new format. Last year had a semifinal round after the group stage, and tournament director Francis Ramirez has done away with that for this year in the college division.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 19 edition) A FEW days ago, I was surprised to read an online post from Erco manager Rodney Orale, who was incensed by insinuations that the team fell flat in the finals after bragging they’d win. I was surprised; not only because the usually mild-mannered Rodney shares harmless posts on social media, but also by the thought that Erco was bragging it would win the final, because the team didn’t.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 17 edition) MINUTES after our failed bid for the Fiba World Cup hosting, I heard Quinito Henson talking about how the target now is to aim for the title in the Fiba Asia men’s championships in China and that we should focus all our energies on that. I was on my way out when I heard that and I couldn’t help but scoff. “Why talk about championship when we can’t even form a national team?”

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 15 edition ) INCREDULOUS. That’s what most of my friends’ reaction was on the news that only the Cebu Eastern College player is behind the tampering of his NSO record and that no one else was aware of it. A friend, who has seen his son go through the youngest age group through the men’s open said, that hte kid received wrong advise from the wrong people. People with a wrong sense of value and principle.

AGAIN, another case of age-cheating has hit the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. basketball tournament and like in the previous cases, it’s in the high school division. This one stinks because the player caught--Mark James Roa of Cebu Eastern College-- was an All-Star last year and was a key player in the Dragons. He snipped two years off his age in his NSO, and in turn, Cesafi snipped his right to earn a scholarship in any Cesafi member school forever.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 12 edition) I GOT to watch a football festival again for the first time in months and it was fun. As expected, the favorite teams like Springdale and Ateneo de Cebu got most of the crowns, though I think things would have been more interesting had Don Bosco Technological Center joined the fray. Consolacion FC also won one crown, while the University of San Carlos won the U13 division.

(This report was published in Sun.Star Cebu's  Aug. 10 edition ) ATENEO de Cebu had a field day in the Univille Homes Football Cup, winning three divisions on Sunday at the Cebu City Sports Center. Ateneo de Cebu won the Girls 15 and 18-Under divisions, and the Boys 15-Under division. It also made the quarterfinals of the Boys 18-Under division, which was being played at press time. In the Boys 15 division, Ateneo earned the title after winning the shootout against Warshockz, 2-1.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 5 issue ) THE Cebu Institute of Technology-University basketball teams found out that the Cesafi really meant it when it said players with no ECG tests results won’t be allowed to play. The high school and basketball team lost their first game even without taking a shot after the commissioner had them defaulted against the University of the Visayas. For the Cesafi officials, they mean business when it comes to this requirement and I think it’s a rigid rule that should be followed.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 3 edition) THE head of the Philippine Basketball Association, the oldest professional league in Asia which most student athletes dream of joining, had the perfect advice for today’s generation of college players. Don’t forget your studies. It’s an advice that many--if not the majority--neglect because rare is an athlete who thinks beyond his playing years. Some stay in school, not to study, but to continue playing, paying rigid attention only to the minimum requirements to continue playing but not on schoolwork itself.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 1 edition ) AT first, I thought that whoever was behind the bungled attempt to field a 25-year-old as a high school player for Southwestern University was so intellectually-challenged not to see how easily it can be spotted but now, I think he’s one devious individual. And I don’t think this is even about basketball anymore.