Central Visayas edges Calabarzon in emotional football quarterfinals

LAGUNA, Philippines – As emotions ran high in the knockout stages of the secondary football competition, last year’s finalists Central Visayas pulled off a hard-earned 3-1 victory over host region Calabarzon in the Palarong Pambansa football quarterfinals, Thursday, May 8 at the Laguna State Polytechnic University in Sta. Cruz.

The Cebu-based side came back from one goal down to nip their Southern Luzon counterparts and earn themselves a slot in the Final Four.

Battling injuries since the elimination round, Central Visayas showed heart as their injured players stepped up in the all-important matchup with Christian Agot, Vincent Lovitos, and Angelo Ouano each scoring a goal. 

“We just stuck to the plan. Attack, defend, and work hard,” Central Visayas coach Glen Ramos told Rappler.

“We are in the semifinals, and one step away from the championship. We just have to keep it up and play harder.”

Both squads fought neck and neck in the early goings as they tested each other’s defense but it was Jhustine Bernandino who opened the scoring after pouncing on a Central Visayas defensive lapse to put Calabarzon up 1-nil, just eight minutes into the match 

The Don Bosco crew then put pressure on the home squad as they tried to puncture their defense but Calabarzon was able to stop most of Central Visayas’ shots inside the first 15 minutes of the match.

With Calabarzon starting to crumble under the pressure, Christian Agot – who was taken to the hospital just two days ago for a pulled muscle – found himself too open inside the box after he zigzagged through the opposing side’s backline but his attempt from point-blank was smothered by the bar.

It did not take him a long while, however, to make up for the mistake as Calabarzon’s clearance landed perfectly on his foot, giving him too much space to work out the equalizer in the 17^th minute.

With a ticket to the semifinals at stake, the match turned from friendly to unpleasant as players shoved and pushed each other for the ball in a match that saw eight yellow cards issued, five of which slapped on Calabarzon players.

Angelo Ouano continued his fine form for the Cebuanos as he drove the ball through the Calabarzon defense to drill in the go-ahead goal 41 minutes into the match.

With emotions spiking high late in the second half, a melee almost broke out as cards rained in the final ten minutes but cooler heads prevailed, preventing what would have been an ugly free-for-all clash.

Vincent Lovitos, who is also playing injured for Central Visayas, banked in the assurance goal in the 71^st that sucked the life out of Calabarzon’s plays until the final whistle.

In the prospect of having a rematch with MIMAROPA in the finals, Ramos admitted that the road to redemption is not going to be easy.

“They’re playing good build up in attacking and defending also, we hope we can play well in the finals.”

But before they could get a shot for the title, Central Visayas will have to go through the semis against either Northern Mindanao or National Capital Region.

“It’s a challenge for us to be number one in the Palarong Pambansa but I believe we have a good chance.”

Semifinals begin on Friday, May 9, still at the LSPU football field. – Rappler.com