3rd San Roque football tourney set

CEBU, Philippines - Even if the 9th Thirsty Cup has not yet ended, soccer enthusiasts already have something to look foward to as the San Roque Football Club (SRFC) in partnership with the Queen City United FC will stage the 3rd San Roque 9 Aside Tournament starting on February 25 at the San Roque Parish field in Brgy. Subangdaku, Mandaue.

The two-weekend event, which will run until March 4, features the players 9 and 12, boys 15-under, boys and girls 17-under, 36-above, 40-above, inter-company and men's open categories.

Entry fee is pegged at P1,500 per team for the 36-above to the men's open division and P800 for the age-groupers. Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis.

The tournament follows a festival-type format wherein the contending squads will be divided into brackets. The top qualifiers will then go up against the second-ranked squads in the crossover semifinals, with the winners slugging it out for the championship.

For divisions with only one bracket, they will play in a single round robin series. The team with the best record at the end of the elimination round will automatically be declared as champion.

Each team is allowed to field in a maximum of 15 players who must participate and play during the elimination phase. Only in semis and final round that the team coach can choose the best players to suit up for his team.

On the other hand, protests relative to the lineup of other teams will be entertained only in the first two games during the elimination round. The coach or team manager are the only persons who can file a protest before the match coordinator or the tournament commissioner.

To finalize everything, the organizers are calling all team representatives for a meeting at 5 pm on February 22 at the San Roque Food Park.

For further details, one may contact tournament director Engr. Nilo Ferraren at 0922-8899443 or match consultant Sherwin Rodriguez at 0922-2084405. (FREEMAN)