THE young guns of Erco DB sealed the Men’s Open Division 2 title of the AboitizLand Football Cup after beating Makoto FC, 4-1, at the Cebu City Sports Center on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020.
Erco DB, represented by players from the Don Bosco Technical Center (DBTC), was simply too much against Makoto which suffered its first loss. Erco finished the league with a perfect 5-0 record for 15 points, while Makoto got second with 12 points. Both teams will be promoted to Division 1 next season.
Vince Ybañez got Erco the lead in the 17th before the legendary Norman Fegidero, the former national team star and national team coach who also plays for DB Alumni in the 45-above division, got the equalizer two minutes later.
However, Josh Asignar got Erco the lead back in the 23rd for a 2-1 half-time lead. In the second half, John Arizabal got the insurance goal in the 52nd and Alvin Tabay added another in the 54th to complete the rout.
Meanwhile, the Cebu Avengers sealed their third place finish in the group with a 7-3 win over DB Alumni, which ran out of steam late in the match. Glen Sumalpong and Bryan Eborda gave the Avengers a 2-0 lead just three minutes in but John Degamo cut the lead for DB Alumni.
Rusel Vena made it 3-1 in the 13th before DB Alumni again fought back with Mark Unabia scoring in the 23rd and 30th to make it 3-3. Nelsco Eco scored the first of his two goals in the 40th a 4-3 lead and the Avengers scored three more in the last 17 minutes to seal the win. The Avengers finished third on nine points, while DB Alumni, DB Magone and CK FC all ended up with three points.
In the Boys 16 Division, Abellana National School (ANS) blanked DBTC C, 4-0, to bag the second semifinals seat in Group B. Francis Vercide had two and Francis Yosores and Mark Zafra had one each for ANS, which finished with 12 points.
Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu A finished on top after a 4-1 rout of DBTC B thanks to the four goals of Chris Ozawa. The semifinalists from Group A are DBTC A and KNF DBBH but the final ranking will only be determined once their game, which was postponed, will push through. Both teams have 12 points. (ML)