Cebu Football

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Saturday edition) I HOPE we wake up as champions in the AFC Challenge Cup today and our date in the Asian Cup sealed. Last night's final started too late to make it to today's paper and that's why you have to appreciate the writers who are with the team, because they write for two news cycles as one game day there covers two working days here.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 29 issue) IT WAS close to 2 a.m. and I was alone, screaming at the TV. Once, I even screamed at my friend Bob Guerrero, who was calling the shots for the Maldives vs. Philippines game. I disliked one word—just one word--he used and I screamed, shut the **** up Bob! It was the alcohol and the nerves of that semifinal game that went into extra time.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 26 edition) CALL it fate or faith, but I had a feeling Roland Muller would stop that penalty in the first half. After seeing Edward Sacapano stop one against Singapore in Cebu in 2012, and then Patrick Deyto saving one against Malaysia just last March, somehow I thought, there’s no way this one is going in.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 24 edition) A FEW weeks ago, when some fans were saying that we were one of the favorites to win the AFC Challenge Cup, I refused to join in and simply said that before we aim for the title, we should get out of the group stage first. Today, we are a step closer and the only one standing in the way is Turkmenistan, a tough team hobbled by two red cards to key players—goalkeeper Nikita Gorbunov and defender Serdar Annaorazov

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 22 edition) IT WAS a dark and stormy night. With bad weather holding their ship back, the men had to deal with the prospect of transferring ships mid-sea, amidst huge waves that seemed to toss their little boat like a toy. That’s not an excerpt from an adventure novel. That’s what happened a couple of hours before the Philippines fought Afghanistan to a scoreless draw in their opening match of the AFC Challenge Cup in the Maldives.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 19 issue) TOMORROW, the Philippines will open its campaign in the AFC Challenge Cup, two years after finishing third in Nepal. In previous campaigns, a semifinal stint would have been a satisfactory goal, but now, after finishing third in 2012, anything but a finals stint is unsatisfactory. There is only one target in Maldives and that is to win it all. Win the title and qualify for the Asian Cup in 2015 in Australia.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 17 edition) I HAD a chance meeting my friend Chad Cañares the other week and the former publicist for ALA Boxing turned vice mayor of Bantayan told me of his sports plans for his municipality. Even before he became a politician, Chad, who also owns a mean jump shot, has been also busy getting young kids in his town to try boxing.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 15 issue) FIFTY years ago, Anthony Villanueva came home to a hero's welcome after winning the Philippines' first silver medal in the Olympics. Last Tuesday, the death of Villanueva, 69, and a son of another Olympic bronze medalist, would have gone unnoticed if not for the diligence of a sportswriter who is trying to chronicle the achievements of past Pinoy greats.

THE first time I saw the University of San Carlos football stadium under construcsion was about two years ago, when it was nothing but a vast empty space carved out of two hills. It was pretty hard to reconcile that chasm with the faded diagram of the stadium that was posted just before you get to it. But from that bird’s eye view that I had, it was really quite impressive.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 8 issue ) ABOUT 10 or so years ago, when I first covered a triathlon race—which was as rare as a blue moon—there were quite a few who readily dismissed the local triathlon scene as a hangout for the rich boys. “ Di na magdugay kay mga dato lang ang maka-apil ,” they said.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 5 edition ) THE only time I remember flaunting the rules on age limits was when, as a 17-year-old college freshman, I and a kababayan went to watch a movie that was only suited for 18-year-olds and above. What’s the harm, right?

IT SEEMS the idea of having the Peace Cup in Cebu has piqued quite a lot of interest. Writers Bob Guerrero and Ryan Fenix, both based in Manila, which hosted the inaugural Peace Cup, like the idea, while a lot of fans are excited about it. Another fan and writer, Arielle Cruz, offered a better alternative—why not use the Peace Cup as a tool for tourism.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 1 edition ) LOCAL organizers got an A-plus for the friendly between the Philippines and Malaysia last Sunday. Done on barely three weeks’ notice, everything but the condition of the pitch got praised. And the Cebu Football Association even had a surprise for the national team, handing out a P150,000 donation the officers received from fans for their “We Believe” campaign.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's April 28 edition. I wrote this before the Philippines vs. Malaysia friendly) IN THE past few days, I’ve met some of the guys who work behind the scenes in making sure the Philippines vs. Malaysia match would push through. And they pretty much have had nothing else in mind since the friendly was announced and they all say the same thing, “ Wa’y tulganay .”

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's April 26 edition ) UNDER the previous coach, you could pretty much bet the house on who would make the training pool, the starting lineup and who would replace who on the field and come out the winner. Under coach Thomas Dooley, you’d lose everything if you’d be crazy enough to do that.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's April 24 issue ) I PASSED by the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) last Tuesday, and I have to say, I’m impressed with the improvement of the field. Long forsaken and given up for dead after it was spruced up, first for the Singapore game on Nov. 15, 2012, and for the AFC President’s Cup in May last year, the football pitch looks like a football pitch again, not the dust bowl CCSC was famous for. (That's Dino Musni watering his baby.)

JUST like in the 2012 Suzuki Cup, Cebu will host the final home game of the Philippines before the senior team leave for its  major tournament of the year, the AFC Challenge Cup. This time, we are hosting Malaysia anew, a team we haven't beaten since we hosted them in the 1991 Southeast Asian Games, when Asean's  sporting meet wasn't a U23 match.

THE last time I saw University of San Jose-Recoletos keeper Peter Onde play was in a finals shootout between the Kicking Jaguars and the University of San Carlos for the CAAA crown, if I remembered it right. And the gifted keeper played a key role in that win.

IT is encouraging to see teams like the University of Cebu-Koreans and UC Nigerians join local tournaments, as these foreign laden squads help raise the level of competition. I've been encouraging schools to let their foreign students join local competitions as it is a great way of letting the foreign students assimilate get connected with the local community. Sports, too, is a chance for foreign students in Cebu to come together.  In the Aboitiz Cup finals between the UC Nigerians and Leylam, some of those who cheered for the eventual champions were members of Samba FC, a team of Nigerians from Southwestern University.

I FINALLY met Coach Thomas Dooley when the amiable coach, Dan Palami and Jaron Genota met me and fellow columnist Noel Villaflor for a late night chat last Sunday. While discussing his philosophy and approach to the game, I got to ask a coach that I think most fans want to ask; the Philippines played so beautifully in those two games against Malaysia and Azerbaijan, what did coach Dooley do in those training sessions he had with the team that transformed the squad?