CESAFI TERTIARY FOOTBALL: USJ-R defends title against UV this pm

CEBU - Football fans should not miss this one - the championship battle between defending champion University of San Jose-Recoletos and the University of the Visayas in the 2008 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Incorporated (CESAFI) tertiary football event at the University of San Carlos Technology Center in Talamban this city.

Games today

12:30pm - USC vs. USPF (for 3rd)

2:30pm - USJR vs.UV (championship game)

The final match was originally set at the Cebu City Sports Center, but organizers decided to finish the tournament on the same field where it started.

The match is a repeat of the 2005 championship encounter that saw UV take the crown.

Can the Green Booters repeat this year? Would the Kicking Jaguars come out victorious? These questions will be answered this afternoon.

The two squads enter the final after scraping through in the elimination round.

Two players would however be missing the action as they got booked in the semifinals and are sitting out the next game for getting red cards.

USJ-R will be without skipper Franco Cedullo while UV will miss the services of striker Melvin Aguilar.

Joselito ‘Babot’ Bono, coach of USJ-R said that while his team may have had a rather lethargic start, the Kicking Jaguars have peaked at the right time.

USJ-R has won two titles and had two bridesmaid finishes the past four years.

The void left by Cedullo would however be tough to fill-up and coach Bono hopes to see somebody step up and take the leadership chores in the field.

UV’s road to the final was not also well paved. The team had four draws in the elimination round and their only win was by default over Cebu Doctors’ University.

Things became rosy in the semifinals though as the Green Booters slipped past top qualified University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF), 1-0.

More than the title, this afternoon’s match is also a quest for redemption by USC, which was disqualified last year for fielding an ineligible player.

On the bright side, UV hasn’t been defeated this season and they hope to keep that slate clean.

 Without Aguilar, UV team captain Frederick Alazas said, it’s going to be him or Marvin Lauron, who will have to move up as striker.

The Green Booters also hope to keep their noses clean in this final match and avoid cards that might decimate their line-up.

“We can’t afford to see any of our teammates out of the game anymore. We are composed of only three veterans today and the rest are new ones.

“Hopefully, the new ones can overcome anxiety and instead just enjoy the game and hopefully win,” Alazas said.

Before the USJ-R-UV final match, the two former leading squads who fell short in the semifinal, USPF and USC will battle for third.          (THE FREEMAN)