BACOLOD’S Fegidero brothers and two goalkeepers with contrasting styles stole the limelight in the Aboitiz Men’s League yesterday, as Crazy Horse FC and Hiroshi FC opened their seasons with easy routs at the San Roque Parish football grounds.

Joshua Fegidero scored three goals and younger brother Dave, had four, including three in the first half to power Crazy Horse to an 8-0 win over Rugmo Debra. Shin Suguirn scored the other goal for Crazy Horse.

In the next game, the flamboyant Ace Mangohig embarrassed himself after one of his antics resulted into an easy goal for Danao FC. However, Mangohig’s theatrics wasn’t enough to bring his team down, as Hiroshi scored seven goals in the second half for an 8-1 win over Danao FC.

The score line also belied the early struggles of Hiroshi, which is beefed up by former Philippine Army members, Rocky Garciano and Jan Flores, as Danao FC held it to a 1-1 draw at the half, thanks to Mangohig and Danao keeper Martin Diligencia.

The two were extremes. Where Mangohig was showy, diving into a roll after grabbing an easy ball, Diligencia was economical and accurate, swatting shots off without too much of a fuss.

In a five-minute span, Dilegencia swatted Marion Cubelo’s shot, then again stopped Cubelo on a one-one-one, denied Flores a goal and dove right to push out Garciano’s strike, earning a wave of cheers from the crowd.

“This is one keeper who you can’t score easy,” one of the match officials observed.

Hiroshi finally scored in the 35th after Cubelo’s shot from left flank swerved into the top post.

On the other hand, feeling perhaps left out in the cheering, Mangohig launched into another of his dives, and instead of a spectacular roll, he hit a Danao striker, losing the ball in the process. Danao’s Arnold Perez calmly kicked the ball into the empty net for a 1-1 count.

“He could just have picked up the ball, but he wanted to show off,” the same match official said.

Predictably, Mangohig was benched in the second half for Frederick Alazas, while Martin Bontia, Julius Acre, Junard Aguilar and Josaphat Sacil also checked in.

Barely 30 seconds in, Hiroshi got the lead after a teammate’s clearance hit Danao’s Brian Lawas on his head and the ball bounced onto the goal.

In the 59th, Flores finally scored off a tired Dilegencia, who was then replaced by Raymund Dayon. Garciano gave him a rude welcome with a goal in the 65th, and Voltaire Montebon added one off a free kick in the 70th before Aguilar, Acre and Flores score three more.

(Photos by Ruel Rosillo)

THE CEBU International School barged into the semifinal round of the Aboitiz 12 Under Cup after a tough 1-0 win over Don Bosco Youth Center at the San Roque football grounds last Thursday.

CIS finished second to Springdale in Group B with two wins and a loss, and will face Group A top qualifier Don Bosco College in the semifinal round next week. Springdale, the only undefeated team in the event with three wins in the elimination round, takes on Hiroshi FC in the other match-up.

“We decided to move the semifinal round next week since most of the players are going out of town for the long weekendm” Cebu Football Association president Jonathan Maximo said.

Nick Aboitiz scored the lone goal for CIS in the 4th minute as it booted DBYC out of contention for the last four. Earlier, CIS lost to Paref 2-1 after opening with an emphatic 11-0 win over San Roque FC two weeks ago.

Meanwhile it’s a busy weekend for football as action in the Aboitiz 15 Under and Aboitiz Men’s League resume at San Roque.

In the 15 Under, Blessed John XXIII seminary, goes for its third straight win against Cebu Inmaculada Concepcion in the first game at 1, while DBYC takes on FC Inter Cebu in the second game.

Tomorrow, at 8, DBC will face the University of Southern Philippines, and CIC-M will face USP-F in the second match up.

For the Men’s League, FC Inter Cebu goes for its first win against FC Lapu-lapu, at 10 today while Crazy Horse FC plays Rugmo Debra at 1 tomorrow before the defending champion, Hiroshi FC debuts in Division A against Danao FC.

ALMOST a month after the University of Cebu (UC) football team “walked out” of its final game in the elimination round against the University of San Jose-Recoletos in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc., the Cesafi board still has to decide on a sanction.

The reason? The board cannot act with out an official complaint.

Lawyer Joseph Baduel, the league’s legal consultant, said he talked with tournament manager Bro. Marie Aberasturi two weeks ago, but no official complaint has been furnished to his office.

Still, the UC Webmasters won’t escape punishment, as the Cebu Football Association (CebuFA), which sanctioned the event, is mulling a ban on either UC coach Glen Ramos or the whole team.

“We were expecting a letter from Bro. Mari but we didn’t receive any, and we cannot act without a complaint,” Baduel told Sun.Star Cebu.

Sun.Star’s call to Aberasturi’s cellular phone went unanswered yesterday.

Earlier this year, Baduel recommended the season-long suspension of Ahman James Tagalog of the University of San Carlos and Allain Abellansoa of UC for instigating a brawl in the basketball tournament. Baduel also recommended a P5,000 fine on University of Southern Philippines volleyball coach, Cecil Jotojot, for allegedly being drunk and for hitting a Don Bosco player.

If ever UC dodges the Cesafi sanction, it will have to deal with the disciplinary committee of the CebuFa.

“We were waiting for the Cesafi sanction because it is their tournament but definitely there will be a sanctions, maybe just like those who were involved in the free-for-all in the Aboitiz,” CebuFa president Jonathan Maximo said.

During the Aboitiz Cup finals last February, seven players got tournament-long suspensions for getting involved in a brawl.

If UC gets the same punishment, it will be banned from the Aboitiz League, which started last Sunday.

“That’s why we held the entry of UC, because it is still being considered whether to punish the coach or the whole team,” Maximo said.

UC’s problem started when it stopped playing with 28 minutes left in its 1-all match against USJ-R last Oct. 2. Ramos contended that they did not walk out but “merely left the field to cool his players off.

However, Aberasturi, who earlier said that such acts deserve punishments since they affect the league, and Culibra have decided that UC walked out. Aberasturi also consulted the Philippine Football Federation catalogue of punishments, which states that UC’s action is punishable by a fine, suspension or ban.

Under the guidelines, which the CebuFA also uses, by walking out, UC has surrendered its right to appeal the decision the board makes.

AFTER the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, sports buffs in Cebu will have another spectacle to see as the Private Schools Athletic Association (Prisaa) Regional meet unfolds in the city on Dec. 9-11 at different venues.

The 11-nation Seag is on Nov. 27 to Dec 5, and six events will be played in Mandeue, Cebu and Danao Cities.

On the other hand, there will be 15 events in the Regional Prisaa, which will be participated by schools from Bohol and Dumaguete City and the champions of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc.

The different athletic directors, together with Prisaa Cebu president Fr. Vic Uy of the University of San Carlos, met yesterday to discuss Cebu’s hosting of the regional meet, which also serves as the selection process for Prisaa VIII’s representatives to the national meet in Dagupan City on Feb. 5 to 11 next year.

“There will be no football, dancesport, and beach volleyball in the nationals but what we could do is, to invite schools from Bohol and Dumaguete to send teams for the regional meet here for the three events,” University of Cebu athletic director Bernard Ricablanca said.

According to Ricablanca, athletics and swimming will be at the Cebu City Sports Center, while badminton and table tennis, at the University of the Visayas, dancesport at E-Mall, chess at Velez College, taekwondo at Cebu Doctors University, sepak takraw at Southwestern University, softball at the University of Cebu - METC, baseball at Mactan and volleyball at the University of San Carlos.

USC will also host the opening and palabas on Dec. 9.

“On Dec. 9, basketball will be at USP and on Dec. 10 and 11, it will be at the Cebu Coliseum,” Ricablanca said.

Aside from the sports contests, the regional meet will also have a contest for vocal solo, quiz bee, math and science contests.

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ACTION in the Aboitiz Men’s League is following the pattern in the Age Groups - that is winning via blowouts.

New club Wild Cebu Fashion FC blanked FC Inter Cebu 5-0 in Division B, while the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Alumni FC routed Juvio-Magone FC, 6-0.

In the age group competitions, dominant teams like Paref Springdale, Cebu International School, Don Bosco and Hiroshi FC also routed their opponents by at least five goals.

Ralph Eco scored the first goal in the new league, after connecting in the 24th minute for Wild, and Jhures Colina banged in another in the 36th. Gladino Muit got into the scoring act in the 38th for a 3-0 lead at the half.

After a few defensive adjustments, Inter managed to plug its leak but Wild’s offense broke through again with two goals in the final ten minutes. Chuckie Loi Alburo banged in an 81st minute goal and Colina added another in the 83rd for the final count.

It was a similar story in the first Division A match as Jade Paghubasan scored in the 4th and Dave Intong added another in the 24th for a 2-0 count.

Jesus Menaling booted in a goal four minutes after the exchange and Robert Nicart made it 4-0 in the 66th. After another Paghubasan goal in the 76th, Nicart scored again in the 81st to complete the rout.

This is the first time the Cebu Football Association is following the league format for its Men’s Division, as recommended by the Philippine Football Federation. After this year, the top two team of Division B will replace the bottom two teams in Division A.

Meanwhile, Queen City United coach Mario Ceniza said they opted to play in Division B since most of its members are professionals who don’t have much time to practice. As one of the top eight teams in the Aboitiz Cup last year, they were entitled to play in Division A.

“It’s tough to get these guys together and we only get to practice once a week,” Ceniza said, “This year, we are also trying to assess the strength of the team, whether we are suited for Division A or not.”

WHAT was supposed to be the closest match of the season turned into a blowout as Paref-Springdale routed Cebu International School, 8-1, in the Aboitiz 15-Under Cup at the San Roque football grounds yesterday.

“Natsambahan lang (It was just luck),” Springdale coach Mario Ceniza said of their easy win.

Previously, CIS defeated FC Inter Cebu, 5-2, while Springdale blasted Don Bosco Youth Center, 7-1.

Yesterday’s second game was just as lopsided, with Don Bosco College scoring a 10-0 walkover on San Roque FC with Michael Pato scoring six goals.

Springdale and CIS played evenly in the first half with Springdale taking the lead in the 19th courtesy of Carlos Miguel Veloso before defender Timothy James Mateo added another from a penalty in the 44th.

Prodigy Michael Sharpe of CIS got one for his team with a strike two minutes into the second half but seemed to run out of steam in the later stages.

“Actually, it was Sharpe who did most of the work for CIS, and after he slowed down, that was when we were able to control the midfield,” Ceniza. Sharpe at 14 played and scored two goals for Cebu in the Philippine Football Federation’s National Under-19 championships.

With the midfield open, Bryan Liu struck thrice, while Dominic Paul Garcia added two and Veloso scored again in the 81st to complete their win.

Meanwhile, Pato was a one-man offensive show as he scored twice in the first half then added four more in the second. Other DBC goals were scored by Anthony Clark Maderaz, Samuel Damole and Sean Gacayan, who had two.

WHILE goalkeepers rarely have a hand in scoring goals, Hiroshi’s Junfiel Villarico found himself in this exact situation - assisting in one. Too bad it wasn’t for his team.

A defensive move by Villarico resulted in a goal by Don Bosco Youth Center’s Winrich Baclay, which gave the Bosconians a 1-0 lead in the third minute of their 12-Under game in the Aboitiz Football Cup at San Roque Parish football grounds.

Seeing Villarico advancing toward the goal, Villarico moved forward and cleared the ball, which rebounded off Baclay and went straight into the net.

Fortunately, Hiroshi was able to level the count in the 14th minute courtesy of Prince Anthony as Hiroshi drew its first match after opening with two wins.

On the other land, Springdale cruised to its third win with a 9-0 rout of host SRFC.

Junrick Ong started the barrage in the third and Shawn Hausen added another in the fifth. SRFC’s woes compounded when Karl Arcenas scored twice and Hausen added another, while Andoni Ugarte struck in the 23rd for a 6-0 lead.

Bright Academy also turned a 1-1 match into a 4-1 win over Cebu Inmaculada Concepcion-Mandaue. Gabriel Penko scored in the 23rd before Nikko Ouano equalized in the 32nd.

CIC-M’s joy was short lived as Robert Lee scored a minute later and added another in the 47th before Thomas Jackson capped the game with a 47th-minute goal.

In the 15-Under division, Blessed John XXIII Seminary scored it’s second straight rout, this time against the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, 8-0.

Chris Delos Santos and Dexterius Encabo were unstoppable in the offensive end as they each completed a hat trick in the first half for a 6-0 lead. Delos Santos added another goal in the 55th before Mark Ersam scored in the 86th for the final count.

In another game, Jerson Omnos scored twice to tow Hiroshi FC to an easy 7-0 win over FC Inter Cebu. After flirting with the bar thrice early, Hiroshi finally scored after Omnos converted a penalty, starting the onslaught.

Meanwhile, the Aboitiz Men’s League opens starts today with FC Inter Cebu going up against Wilde Cebu in Division B, and the University of San Jose-Recoletos facing Magone FC in Division A also at San Roque.

TO AVOID a repeat of the free-for-all last year, the Cebu Football Association (CebuFA) will separate the players bench from the crowd in this Sunday’s Aboitiz League at the San Roque football grounds.

“We will strictly implement the technical area (rule) to segregate the crowd from the players,” CebuFA president Jonathan Maximo said.

The rule limits access to the technical area to players, coaches and tournament officials.

Last year, there was no technical area in the venue, and the people who watched the games sometimes sat near or with the players.

A nasty fight prematurely ended the finals match last year between Hiroshi FC and Exas resulting to the suspension of seven players.

On the other hand, the CebuFA will also inform the coaches of the various offenses and the corresponding punishments listed in the Philippine Football Federation guidelines.

“We will show them the catalogue so that they will know the consequences if ever they will walk out or what,” Maximo said.

Maximo said that the coaches know of the guidelines but seems to take them for granted “since it was not implemented.”

As for the security in San Roque, Maximo is coordinating with the newly-revived San Roque Football Club for their help.

“This is also a challenge to the San Roque community, to prove to Cebu that it is a safe venue,” Maximo said.

Concerns have been raised by some players as San Roque has had a history of violent fights involving players and the crowd.

This Sunday, the 1st Aboitiz Men’s League will kick off with two matches in the two divisions. FC Inter Cebu opens its second-division campaign against fellow newcomer Wilde Cebu. In Division A, the University of San Jose Recoletos Alumni will face the Juvio Magone FC.

THERE wasn’t much of a competition in the first five matches of the Aboitiz 15 Under Cup last weekend as all the five top contenders scored blow out wins at the San Roque football grounds.

Hiroshi FC started the tone early in the crowded division with a 10-1 wipeout over Don Bosco Youth Center last Saturday, and Cebu Inmaculada Concepcion-Mandaue (CIC-M) followed suit with a 3-0 win over the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF).

Sunday’s matches were of the same note and newcomers Blessed John XIII Seminary (BJS) showed up for a 6-0 rout of hosts SRFC, while Cebu International School (CIS) defeated new comers FC Inter Cebu (FCIC) 5-2, and Paref Springdale handed DBYC another humbling 7-1 defeat.

CIS was the only team that got threatened last Sunday after FCIC crawled from two goals down to level the count. Ryan Bordalba leveled the count for FCIC in the 55th and 62nd before CIS got the lead back courtesy of Paolo Cases in the 77th and Peter Shin added two more in the 85th and 87th.

The 15-under division is one of the competitive categories in Cebu with all five winners capable of beating the rest. Playing in the Red Ribbon Under-14 last year, Springdale defeated Hiroshi, then playing as the Abellana National School, 3-0, for the title.

In its first win this year, Hiroshi upped the tempo in the second half as it poured eight goals for its 10-1 win. Miguel Subang scored three after the break while Hansel Go scored twice for its blowout win.

“It seems Don Bosco lost steam and coordination after playing a good first half,” one of the referees said after the match.

On the other hand, after getting on the wrong end of blowouts the previous tournaments, CIC-M showed it is capable of making one with a 3-0 win over USPF. Jon Ervin Ceniza shot the opener in the 18th and Jomar Salvaleon added his tally in the 27th and 54th for their first win.

This year’s new entry, BJS relied on a team effort for its 6-0 win. Dexterius Encabo struck twice in three minutes and Arnulito Camrillo scored in the 37th for a 3-0 half time lead. SRFC’s chances for a recovery got dashed after Sam Marcellana made it 4-0 a minute into the second half before Billy Laroa and Cesarito Fat scored in the 63rd and 85th for the easy win.

Another favorite, Springdale, parading the same team that won the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association elementary title three years ago, never got threatened in their 7-1 win. The prolific Bryan Liu struck four times in their easy win as Springdale cruised to a 7-0 count before Bernard Buot scored a consolation goal in the 81st.

*photo by Sunstar’s Arni Aclao