Iloilo nips NCR to book U23 Finals seat

BAROTAC NUEVO, Iloilo—A football coach once said “A striker can make a thousand mistakes and it won’t hurt a team. One defensive mistake on the other hand...well, that kills.”
The National Capital Region (NCR) Team B, a team loaded with University Athletic Association of the Philippines stars, dominated possession, corners, shots on goal—you name it.

But their inability to find the back of the net and a pair of defensive mistakes cost them dearly—they bowed to Iloilo, 2-1, in the Philippine Football Federation Under-23 National Cup semifinals on Sunday.

Iloilo thus qualified for the home-and-away finals on May 19 and 22. Bacolod and Davao will dispute the other finals slot at 2:30 p.m. on Monday at the Central Philippine University in Jaro.

In the 23rd minute NCR defender Ronnie Aguisanda headed the ball toward his own goal that Iloilo’s Chester Braga chased down. With midfield mate Shirmar Felongco sprinting forward, all they had to beat was goalkeeper Patrick Deyto.

As Deyto rushed out, Braga layed the ball for Felongco, who slotted the ball into an empty net.

NCR answered with a series of attacks that saw it hit the crossbar four times. Striker Jon Melliza, who had been marked well since the quarterfinals, equalized in the 78th minute when his set piece evaded the Iloilo wall and curved back in to blow past keeper Wilson Muñoz.

As NCR renewed its attack, misfortune struck when defender Deo Segunial was whistled for a handball inside the box in the 83rd minute. Francis Gustilo converted the penalty shot for a 2-1 lead to take the wind out of NCR’s sails.

“I knew the pressure was on them,” said Gustilo, who recalled his thoughts prior to taking the penalty shot. “If I missed—but I knew I wouldn’t—the worst that could happen was we will go into extra time.”

“We are looking forward to getting back at Bacolod if [they] advance to the finals,” said a victorious Ilonggo head coach Marjo Allado who is a Barotac Nuevo native. “It was a good victory in front of the home crowd considering that the NCR team is very good, but a championship will be better.”

NCR gambled early in the match when it sent defenders Segunial and David Basa on the attack. The relentless pressure put Iloilo on its heels. But after the Felongco goal, NCR went to a more conventional 4-4-2 formation.



A disappointed NCR coach Hans Smit lamented his team’s ouster from the first national competition in four years.

“All the goals against us [including the two by Bacolod in the quarterfinals] have been on the counter and a mistake. Sayang because the boys played their hearts out,” he said.

Because of the carryover system in the cards, Iloilo, however, will miss the services of Francis Gustilo, Shirmar Felongco and Neckson Leonara in the first game of the finals because of two yellow cards.

(Rick Olivares)

Business Mirror