THE Philippine Academy of Sakya (PAS)-powered Unit 8 dethroned defending champion Ateneo de Davao University (Addu)-bannered Unit 6, 4-2, at the close of the Davao City Athletic Association (Dcaa) Meet 2019 secondary girls futsal competition held recently at the Davao City-UP Sports Complex.

Unit 8 leaned on the goals of Amira Inigo, Erikka Yee, Francesca Coros and Erikka Yee.

Coach Merlo Albano yesterday said they didn't expect to pull off the surprising win against the perennial champions.

"Strong team ang Unit 6 po, daghan sila experienced players po pero salig lang ko sa akong mga players kay nakita nako ilang talents and sacrifices during sa training (Unit 6 is a strong team with a lot of experiencd players but I believed in my players seeing their abilities and sacrifices during training)," she said in an interview with Sun.Star Davao.

The former national team player said they've played Unit 6 in past four Dcaa meets where Unit 8 only salvaged bronzes.

She also said, "Happy po para sa mga bata kay na-achieve nila ang isa sa goals nila na nkadula ug Davraa ug proud sa ilaha kung unsa ilang na-achieve (I'm happy the girls achieved one of their goals to play in Davraa Meet. I'm proud of what they have achieved."

In the eliminations, Unit 8 demolished Units 3, 7 and 4 before defeating Unit 5.

Unit 6 coach Rachelle "Ching" delos Reyes, meanwhile, said, "Preparado jud sila for this Dcaa. Most of their players sagad na sa age while ang amo team is mix and half of them naa pa next year (They came prepared for this Davraa Meet. Their players have also reached the maximum age while ours is a mix team)."

She also said that they haven't been complete during training due to tight activity schedules in school.

"Dako ang factor ang prep jud if gusto mudaug. During Dcaa nami nakumpleto (Preparation is a huge factor to win. It's only during Dcaa that we were complete)," Delos Reyes added.