Cebuano booter Val Calvo scores winning goal as Teen Azkals win Australian football tourney

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu's pride Valentino "Val" B. Calvo fired the winning goal as the Philippine Under-18 football team subdued the Capitol FC, 1-0, to clinch the championship of Kanga Cup 2013, a tournament in Australia featuring clubs and schools around the world. Overall, Calvo knocked in a total of five goals out of six games

The 17-year-old Calvo, who now plays for St. Benilde College- La Salle in the NCAA, is a proud product of the extensive football program of Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC). As a Bosconian striker, he grabbed back-to-back MVP trophies during the Baguio Victory Cup and the Mizuno Football Cup two years ago. 

Calvo summoned all the strength and skills that made him one of Cebu's top soccer players in leading the Teen Azkals to their latest crowning glory in the Land Down Under.

Fighting under the banner of Carranz FC, the Teen Azkals advanced into the finals after sweeping all of their matches in the group stages. They drubbed John Paul College, 6-0, in the semifinals last Thursday to secure a slot in the championship round.

In yesterday's finals, the Teen Azkals completed their scintillating run by scoring a repeat over the Capitol FC, which they also outlasted via the same decision last Monday, thanks to Calvo's heroics.

The Kanga Cup is Australia’s premier international youth football festival played annually in Canberra every July. This year’s edition featured over 230 teams and 3,700 players from clubs and schools in Australia and abroad, making it the largest in the event's history.

Aside from the Phl, South Korea, New Zealand, and Canberra's Sister City Beijing were the other international squads in the five-day tilt. —EBV with reports from www.interaksyon.com (FREEMAN)