RIVALS Don Bosco Technological Center and Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu got a step closer to a finals showdown after scoring emphatic wins in the final day of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. high school elimination round at the Cebu City Sports Center.
DBTC bagged its fourth straight win, 2-0, against the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF), while Ateneo beat the University of San Carlos-Basic Education Department, 4-0, to finish second on goal difference.
DBTC topped the standings with 12 points on four wins, while Ateneo overtook USPF for second spot with seven points and 13 goals, just one more than USPF, which also has seven points and 12 goals.
In next week’s semifinals, DBTC will take on No. 4, USC-BED, while Ateneo will take on USPF, which scored late for a 3-3 draw during their meeting in the group stage.
In the final round yesteday, Clyde Vitulla scored the first goal for Don BOsco in the 42nd before USPF clamped down on defense, holding the defending champion scoreless. However, a late charge two minutes into added time allowed Joshua Castro to double the count for DBTC, which registered its third shutout in four games this season.
USC-BED was the only team to score this season against DBTC during its 2-1 loss.
In the second game, Reo Osawa showed up with his golden boot against the Carolinians, finishing with a hat trick
for their easy win.
In the college division, things followed the script of the first day of the first round with the University of the Visayas (UV) drawing the University of Cebu (UC), 2-2, and USPF beating USC, 1-0.
Playing true to form as this season’s surprise package, UV refused to buckle down against defending champion UC and even took the lead in the seventh, courtesy of Kenneth Vargas strike. However, Rustom Seares leveled the five minutes later and gave UC the lead in the 21st.
With UC pressing its players forward, Vargas got to replay his heroic role anew as he came up with the equalizer in the 84th, sending a perfectly-timed volley to the back of the net for his second goal. Vargas also scored late during UV’s 1-0 win over USPF last Saturday.
USPF vaulted to the top spot in the standings with nine points, while USC dropped to second at 7. Both UC and UV are tied for third with six points, while idle University of San Jose-Recoletos is last at four points.