ONE of my favorite moments in the Cesafi football finals between the University of Southern Philippines Foundation and the University of San Carlos was when USPF ganged up on one of their own after an altercation with USC.
Sometimes, passion gets the better of a player, and I think that was the case. Before things could get worse, it was the USPF players themselves who told their hot-headed teammate to cool down.
He tried to but unfortunately for him, assistant referee Luis Arriesgado caught him doing something away from the ball and Cloyd Abare had to watch the rest of the match from the stands.
It was an intense match and USPF coach Eleazer Toledo and the fourth official even had a shouting episode during that stretch when some of the players thought they were boxers. But I saw both the coach and the official shake hands moments after the final whistle in a show of sportsmanship.
The crowd, which was sizeable, also got into the act, jeering each other. The USC fans were in the VIP area, while the USPF fans were in the red section, just above the VIP area. Whenever the USPF crowd started a chant of their own, some of the USC fans would answer back, “1-0, 1-0, 1-0” to remind them of the score.
And boy did USPF erupt when they got the equalizer. Too bad that euphoria last only for two minutes as USC quickly got one back. And of course, the USC fans who were silenced by the loud USPF cheering just minutes before, broke into a deafening cheer of their own.
Overall, this has been quite a rewarding Cesafi season, with the finalists only determined in the last day. Again, this double round robin and league type format is one that pushes for competitiveness for all teams.
VISAYAS CLASSICO. Tomorrow will be Global Cebu’s final home game of the season against bitter rival Ceres Negros. The match, originally scheduled last July 29, is at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday but I think the crowd will still show up, given the history of both teams.
So don’t forget to show your support for Global Cebu, let’s give them a resounding sendoff for their inaguaral season here. After the regular season of course come the all important knockout phase and Global will have another home game but we will only know which team the club will play after the final rankings is out.