DEFENDING collegiate division titleholder University of San Carlos (USC) defeated University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R), 3-1, in the 2025 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) football tournament on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, at the Cebu City Sports Center.
Gianrenzo Custado scored the opening goal in the 29th minute. Jhon Cyril Sinoy gave USC a 2-0 lead just before halftime with a 38th-minute goal.
Ludwig Ryan Badayos scored in the 69th minute to give USC a comfortable 3-0 cushion.
Dylan Kane Dela Fuente hit a consolation goal for USJ-R in the first minute of added time.
University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) stayed in first place with 10 points, followed by USC with nine points. University of the Philippines Cebu (UPC) is third with four points, while USJ-R is out of contention with just a single point.
Earlier, in the secondary division, University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) handed defending champion Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC) its first loss with a 1-0 triumph.
It was a neck-to-neck match with both sides equally matched, but Luis Vincent Fernandez put USJ-R ahead in the 30th minute after hitting the back of the net.
DBTC failed to score in the match and USJ-R proved that the Bosconians, the favorites to win it all this year, was beatable after all.
In the other high school match, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) crushed San Carlos School of Cebu (SCSC), 4-1.
The dynamic duo of John James Santos and Antonio Benito Canton led SHS-AdC to victory.
Santos scored a brace with back-to-back goals in the fifth and 30th minutes, while Canton also had his brace in the second half with goals in the 48th and 59th minutes.
SCSC finally hit its target late in the match with a goal by Voughn Hendrik Sundo in the 80th minute.
Despite the loss, DBTC still holds the top spot with 10 points, while USJ-R is second with nine points. SHS-AdC is third with seven, while SCSC is also out of contention with just one point.
The top two teams in the secondary division will battle for the championship. SHS-AdC still has a chance to kick USJ-R out of title contention by winning at least one of its two remaining matches. / EKA