Palarong Pambansa - Davao seeks soccer gold

By Marianne L. Saberon-Abalayan

SAN JOSE, Tarlac -- Vengeance is sweet as Davao Region Athletic Association (Davraa) avenged its elimination round loss by nipping Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA), 2-1, in the 2010 Palarong Pambansa secondary boys football semifinals at Tarlac Recreational Park (TRP) field here Friday.

With the victory, Davraa arranged a gold medal match with Central Visayas Region Athletic Association starting at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Compostela Valley's Marlon Demapanag broke the ice by hitting a goal in the 11th minute but WVRAA's Archie Pamilar countered with a goal in the 14th to force a 1-1 standoff.

As tension ensued in both camps following the draw, Davraa coach Ramonito "Lalas" Carreon made use of the halftime break to rally his wards to go all out for the win.

Davraa booters intensified its defense when game resumed even as goalkeeper Dominador Tato V foiled four attempts of highly-touted WVRAA strikers at the goal.

WVRAA's goalie, meanwhile, fouled Davraa forward Danilo Lascuna, a University of Mindanao mainstay, inside the penalty box, in the 47th minute.

Davraa's Frances Jay Abrasaldo then lived up to expectations as he converted on the crucial penalty kick for his team that never looked back to secure the win and a ticket to the finals.

"I'm so happy our adjustment in the positions of the players worked this time. We had an experiment when we played WVRAA the first time. Tato then was a defender, now he is goalkeeper and was very good at it. The rest of the players were comfortable as they assumed their regular positions," coach Lalas told Sun.Star Davao.

"I thank God for bringing us to this moment. I'm proud of the players for giving their hearts and efforts to make the win possible. We all look forward to playing in our first-ever finals," he added.

A misty-eyed Abrasaldo, a son of a driver, said the vernacular: "In the penalty kick, all I ever think of was make the goal. It was a huge task at hand but I was confident I'll make it and I did. I'm so happy to play such a big role in this victory."

Tato is excited to play for the gold.

"I felt more confident being a goalie. I'm excited to play such role when we battle for the gold tomorrow," he said.

Aside from Demapanag, Abrasaldo and Tato, the team is composed of Emar's Jomar Acedo, Imardino Polo and Faith Jul Canales, Ateneo's Romeo Raphael Du, Derrico Gabriel Diamante, Francis Patrick Lim, Emmanuel Josue Brisson, Jorem Samuel Jabile and Jan Ryven Lumabao, and Davao City National High School's Rocky Custodio and Dean Mark Angotas.

Sun Star Davao