Bacolod booter Belayo impresses coach

Joshua Belayo continued his tournament-long brilliance by tallying five goals in an 8-1 rout of Dipolog and booking a trip to nearby Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo for the semifinals of the PFF Suzuki U-23 National Cup.

The Olongapo-born Fil-Am, who grew up in the United States and Sweden, recently moved to his mother’s hometown in Bacolod.

A Liverpool FC fan, Beloya has compiled an impressive 12 goals in five matches and astonishing strike rate of 2.4 goals per match. He made his presence felt in the last two games where he became a starter for Bacolod coached by Norman Fegidero Jr.

A fearsome scorer during his days as a football player, Fegidero, sees tremendous upside on Beloya.

“He has a great feel for the game and is very dangerous in and around the box. But I believe his mental toughness is his biggest asset."

But Beloya isn’t the only one doing the damage for Bacolod. Striker Jovin Bedic has scored five goals in five matches. Two former national players — defender Lemuel Unabia and midfielder Aldrin Dolino — who played for the Azkals team in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers held in Iloilo, also had significant contributions.

Dolino, who hails from San Carlos City, has four goals in the tournament thus far.

The trio of Bedic, Beloya, and Dolino have formed a deadly triumvirate as Bacolod has employed an unorthodox 2-5-3 attack formation to accommodate their capabilities.

“Now that we’ve qualified, our next goal is to top our group. And I will encourage my players to score more goals," said Fegidero.

National football team assistant coach Edwin Cabalida was at the Panaad Stadium to scout players who could try out for the Under-23 team that will compete in the Southeast Asian Games this November in Indonesia.

Aside from Beloya, Cabalida is taking a look at National Capital Region goalkeeper Patrick Deyto and Dolino. - RCJ, GMA News