Former bronze medalists Central Visayas and National Capital Region achieved their ultimate goals in the Palarong Pambansa as they won the gold medals in the football competition at the Dynamic Herb-Borromeo Sports Complex on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
Central Visayas fashioned out a 3-0 win against Southern Tagalog Calabarzon in the final showdown for the elementary boys’ title, while NCR came from behind to edge out Western Visayas, 5-4, in overtime for the secondary division championship.
The youthful CV footballers displayed their remarkable talents in both offense and defense right from the start to render Calabarzon scoreless in the game.
Mateo Empleo stood out among the Central Visayas players as he executed his shots exquisitely and tackled the opponents bravely.
The rising star Empleo was named Most Outstanding Player and Best Striker of the elementary tournament.
His teammates Markus Palacio and Ichregieren Kangleon, on the other hand, received the Best Goalkeeper and Best Defender awards, respectively.
In the high school title match, Western Visayas asserted its dominance to take a 2-0 lead in the first half, but a revitalized NCR bounced back in the second period to tie the score, sending the game into a five-minute extension.
The NCR and Western Visayas booters traded goals in the overtime period, forging a 4-4 deadlock.
However, NCR managed to sneak in a shot with still three minutes left. Western Visayas spent the remaining minutes of the game trying to even the score, but their efforts went for naught.
“Pag go namo, feel nako nga amoa jud, kay gihatag ni God sa amoa ang kadaugan (I already had that feeling of success when the game was extended, because our victory is a God-given gift),” said NCR’s John Lloyd Amita, who was named the Most Outstanding Player in secondary football.
Aside from clinching the gold, NCR also won the Fair Play Award.
Other NCR players who received individual awards were Arvin Alayon Jr. as Best Striker, Linjun Delubio Jr. as Best Goalkeeper, and Francis Iverson Sambaan as Best Defender.