CEBU, Philippines - Nine young Cebuano booters made good grades at the end of the Visayas Regional Festival of Football that made them potential members of the RP Under-13 squad.
They are Paref-Springdale’s Lorenzo Ceniza and Gabriel Villacin, University of Southern Philippines’ Lawrence Colina, Bright Academy’s Kintaro Anyagi, Canduman Elementary School’s Lendon Colina, Don Bosco Technology Center’s Moiselle Alforque and Lovitor Vincent, Abellana National School’s Major Dean Ebarle and Lahug Elementary School’s Ivan Palmero.
Coach Oliver Colina, who heads the selection process, admitted that the Colinas who were named into the initial list for the RP training pool are his cousins but said it’s not because they are his relatives but because of their impressive performances.
Aside from the nine Cebuanos, there were also players from other areas in the Visayas that got selected including five from Iloilo, four from Dumaguete and seven from San Carlos City.
Last week, Colina’s group went to Mindanao and spotted 22 potential players. Next week, they will shift focus to Luzon players.
After the festival of football in Luzon, the coaching staff will evaluate all candidates based on their skills and respective positions with the 30 of them to form the RP Under-13 training pool here in Cebu beginning April 25.
Of the 30-man training pool to be managed by DRB Sports, only 22 of them will make the cut to the Little Azkals who will represent the country in future international competitions. (FREEMAN NEWS)