Cordi booters to make history in Tarlac

TARLAC CITY – “Don’t count us out, ” declared Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) secondary boys football coach Aries Bocalan as his charges scored their first win against their opposition from Region VIII, at the Tarlac Recreational Park football grounds, April 12.

Left wing Jenno Aquino (No. 12) drew first blood with a long shot from the left field in the first 10-minutes of the first half.

Seeing a hole in the Region VIII defense, Leonard Austria (No. 10) passed the rubber to Aquino who expertly dribbled through three Caraga players for the goal.

At the other end of the field meanwhile, goalie Nelson Garcia kept the ball from touching net in the second half as Region VIII stubbornly tried to equalize.

Efforts of the opposing team were however flustered when CAR captain and striker Domingo Sayan miraculously scored off a rebound of his own missed shot icing the green booters’ win, 2-nil.

The CAR team shall be facing powerhouse National Capital Region (NCR) in its bracket of four teams which include Cotabato and Caraga.

A win over NCR assures a semis birth for the CAR team. A loss on the other hand places them in a must-win situation against Cotabato for the semis.

Bocalan assessing his team’s chances against NCR said, “The NCR team, composed of mostly of Ateneo players, is bigger than us.”

“However,” expressing confidence towards his wards Bocalan added, “we have the speed to neutralize their height advantage.”

Bocalan is banking on his strikers whom he described as ‘gifted sprinters’ to make history for CAR who has yet to see gold in Palaro football. (Isagani Liporada with Xania Carandang)

Sun Star Baguio