THE Sacred Heart School-Jesuit (SHS-J) outlasted Paref Southridge in the shootout to bag the Boys 1997 age group title in the Rizal Football Association (Rifa) Cup at the Colegio de San Agustin Campus in Makati City over the weekend.
The win of the youngest SHS-J team capped a successful weekend for the school as all its three teams it sent landed in the top three.
Their Boys ’95 and ’96 finished third in their divisions.
In the ’97 age group, SHS-J finished second in the elimination after losing a close 1-0 match to Southridge to finish with a 2-2 mark.
However, Sacred Heart got its chance in the finals after holding Southridge to a goalless draw, forcing the penalty shootout.
Shootout
In the shootout, JM Acebedo-Kwan and Kiko Villamor converted their spot kicks for a 2-2 count before goalkeeper Jerby Bernaldez donned the hero’s cap for Sacred Heart.
Bernaldez scored on his kick and then stopped the final penalty from Southridge to preserve the lead.
Aside from Kwan, Bernaldez and Villamor, the other members of the team are Jake Ramos, Matoy Reyes, Mark Veloso, Thirdy Pepito, Kyle Silawan with Lito Ramos as coach.
More teams
The win by Sacred Heart, which is planning to send more teams to the Rifa cup next year, marks the second straight year a Cebu team won a tournament the Rizal Football Association organized.
Last year, Paref-Springdale won five age groups in the Rifa Cup but begged off from participating this year due a conflict in schedule. (ML)
