TARLAC CITY -- Eleven-year-old honor student Jimm Fabela played the match of his life, leading Bukidnon Football Association (BUFA) past the strong One La Salle boys, 2-0, to capture the coveted title of the Luzon Cup 2019 football tournament at the Jose V. Yap Tarlac Recreational Park in San Jose, Tarlac.
The son of soccer mom Jayreth Labunog Sambalog of Libona, Bukidnon and businessman Lowell Fabela was all over the pitch the entire match, tirelessly defending the backline and also pushing forward to score goals.
His efforts handsomely paid off as he led the Bukidnon boys, scoring the game-winning two goals for the land-locked province's second major title this year after also lording it over in the Mindanao Cup held in Davao City last month.
The Grade 5 honor student from Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School (OLLES) in Camp Philips, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, found the back of the net from 10 meters outside the penalty box in the first half.
Fabela scored in the 12th minute after a One La Salle defender cleared the ball from a corner.
He calmly stopped the ball and whipped a ground stroke that went through between the defender's legs onto the mouth of the goal that caught the La Salle goalie off-guarded.
Fabela then capped his sterling performance with another long ball from the right plank in the second half, canning it in the 40th minute that saw One La Salle goalkeeper Jacob Salavante colliding with his defender in midair but failing to catch the ball.
"I'm a proud mom to Jimm. He is an honor student and also a sports enthusiast. He plays all sports, but he is dedicated to football after he started in third grade. He is always busy training but still manage to balance his education and football," said his beaming mother Jayreth after the match.
Fabela's all-around performance earned him the Best Defender and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, overshadowing his teammate and BUFA's top scorer Kurbe Dairo who was once again handcuffed by the One La Salle defenders.
In spite of this, Dairo was still effective controlling the match in the midfield and pushing hard to score and defending from the rare onslaught by their opponents.
His failure to score a goal did not matter, however, as Fabela stepped up when needed to win another jewel for coach Guillier Sumampong's wards on the road.
"Everyone was surprised by his performance. Jim is a workhorse. I am so happy for him," said Sumampong, avenging his team's elimination round loss (2-4) to One La Salle booters of Cameroonian coach Eric Sardou Yosse.
Changing tactics, Sumampong's boys put the opposition under pressure right from the start and their counterparts from De La Salle Zobel, De La Salle Greenhills and De La Salle Canlubang could not find any answer.
Dela Salle's top scorer Duke Punzalan was completely cut-off and never had the chance to score a goal.
To the De La Salle boys' consolation, Kenzo Chua got the Best Midfield award for his brilliant effort in the midfield that led to BUFA Dairo's scoreless finish in the championship match.
For keeping a clean slate, Mindanao Cup Best Goalkeeper Jun Dominique Melig of Bukidnon repeated his feat again in the Luzon Cup.
RIFA Quezon City's tiny striker Filbert Martin Tacardon received the Best Striker award for topping the scoring contest with 29 goals in the entire tournament.
Tacardo also led the boys from Claret School to third place after scoring three goals in their 5-0 win over Masbate.
He scored in the seventh, 14th and 37th minutes, while Johnson Abinguna Talisog added two goals in the 15th and 49th minutes.
Eight players of the 14-man BUFA roster headed home on Monday morning, November 25, to prepare for the Northern Mindanao Regional Athletic Association (NMRAA) meet as the province of Lanao del Norte will be hosting the event in the first week of December.
The players are Dairo, Fabela, Melig, Prince Ryu Aseniero, Ricrolly Ortiz, Adriel Algodon, Zacari Verdeflor, and Kirsten Pelvera.
During the Mindanao Cup, the Bukidnon boys scored a total of 28 goals in sweeping the field with an average of 4.83 per match. Tournament MVP Kurbe Dairo scored a total of 13 goals while striker Cade Sanchez contributed eight goals.
They were also tough on defense, conceding only five goals with three clean sheets and earning their goalkeeper Jun Melig the Best Goalkeeper and Adriel Algador the Best Defender awards of the tournament.
Prince Asiniero also won the Best Midfielder award.
Completing the Bukidnon lineup are Gerald Paluga, Joseph Lagumbay, Sean Octobre, Loejay Jumamoy and left defender Inigo Sevillejo (4 goals in Luzon Cup) with assistant coach Jaysan Andagan.
Organizer and sponsor of the three-day competition Ricky Yanson Jr. thanked all the participants for making the tournament a great success.