THE Cebu City Niños used the setback from last year as a source of motivation to return to the top of football in Central Visayas.
The Niños snatched the boys’ secondary title after a 2-0 win over Cebu Province in an all-Cebuano championship showdown of the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (Cviraa) on Thursday, Feb 21, at the St.Louis School Don Bosco football field in Dumaguete City.
Cebu City, manned by students from University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) with one reinforcement from the University of San Carlos and two from Abellana National School, found the back of the net early as Angelo Colina scored in the 10th minute.
Head coach Rommel Ramirez said the hunger to get back to the Palarong Pambansa was the drive of the players.
“We did not make it to the nationals last year that is why they worked hard to bounce back. These kids really want to get to the Palarong Pambansa,” said Ramirez.
Cebu Province tried to look for an equalizer but Christian Agot broke their spirit with a goal to give Cebu City a commanding 2-0 edge with about 15 minutes to play.
Ramirez said that the familiarity of his players with each other was the vital key in prevailing against the potent Cebu Province.
“These kids have been playing together since they were in elementary and won a title back then. They really know each other,” he added.
It was a different story in the secondary boys’ volleyball as it was the Cebu Province side that was crowned champion after beating Bohol Province in straight sets, 25-19, 25-22, 25-13, at the Foundation Preparatory Academy Gym, to end the decade-long gold medal dry spell in the regional meet.
It turned out that the biggest challenge for Cebu Province title run was erstwhile defending champion Cebu City in the semis the other day, as they made quick work of Bohol Province to win the title and the coveted ticket to the Palarong Pambansa.
“This win is all for the glory of God. It comes first then next is the opportunity of the athletes to land scholarships with exposure in regional and national meet. I am just happy right now,” head coach Renato Sisles told SunStar Cebu in Cebuano after steering the Cebu Province team to its first gold medal in more than 10 years.
Sisles said the team trained together for only two weeks after the Provincial Meet was held in January. They will hold a longer training for the Palarong Pambansa.
“The training will be in Bantayan Island since most of our athletes are from there. I think we will pick up some players from other divisions,” he said.
Cebu City, on the other hand, defended its title in the girls’ secondary volleyball at the expense of host team Dumaguete City, 25-23, 25-16, 25-13, at the Asian College Gym.
The Niños escaped with a slim two-point edge, 25-23, in the opening set before upping the ante in the next two sets en route to a convincing straight sets win.
Niños head coach Yolanda Rizarri lauded her players for giving their best in all the games that resulted in back-to-back titles and a return to the national meet.