SACRED Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC)/Mandaue City finished second place in its campaign in the 1st Oroquieta Cityhood Soccer Football Cup 2019 in Oroquieta City on Tuesday, Feb. 5.
SHS-AdC ended up seven points behind champion Cagayan de Oro (CDO) and just ahead of third place Dipolog City on a +5 goal difference.
CDO topped the league-type invitational with 18 points, while SHS-AdC and Dipolog City both had 11 points.
SHS-AdC was winless in the first two days of the tournament after a 0-0 draw with Ozamiz City, a 0-1 loss to CDO and a 1-1 draw with Dipolog City.
It was in the third day that SHS-AdC finally found its rhythm. The Mandaue City representative for the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (Cviraa) beat host Oroquieta City, 3-1, with a brace by Hayato Ayabe and an own goal by Oroquieta. SHS-AdC then thrashed Tangub City with two goals each by Christian Lumapas, Leo Maquiling and Kiann Partosa, and a goal each by skipper John Veloso and Iverson Almonte.
SHS-AdC capped off the final day with a 3-1 win over Misamis Occidental. Maquiling scored a brace in the 15th and 46th minute, while Veloso added a third goal in the 58th minute.
“We still have to work on our defense and especially our transition from attacking to defending,” SHS-AdC head coach Oliver Colina told SunStar Cebu.
This tournament is part of Mandaue City’s preparation for the upcoming Cviraa on Feb. 17 to 22 in Dumaguete City.
“They play different football here in Mindanao. So at least they learned about the speed and physicality of the game,” said Colina.
SHS-AdC played against Palarong Pambansa squads like CDO and Dipolog City, which will be representing Region 10 and Region 9, respectively.
SHS-AdC returns home and plays two more exhibition matches before its Cviraa campaign. (EKA)