Leylam bags men’s open crown in Aboitiz football

CEBU, Philippines -  Nigerian booter Abdulmalik Ismael hit the game-clincher as Leylam FC dethroned ERCO BRO Nationals, 1-0, to snatch the men's open crown of the 17th Aboitiz Football Cup the other night at the Cebu City Sports Center.

It was a sweet revenge of sort for Leylam of coach Oliver Colina, which was mauled by ERCO-UC, 4-1, in last year's finals.

Interestingly, Abdulmalik was with the ERCO squad that won the championship in 2014 along with three other Nigerians.

Now playing on the other side of the fence, Abdulmalik made sure to leave another lasting mark.

After a scoreless draw at the end of the first half, Abdulmalik left the ERCO defenders in shock with a counter attack from the midfield. He pushed, dribbled and took the long shot at about 40 yards and succeeded in nailing the killer goal at the 69th.

"I prayed to God to give me extra strength. I said, if you give me the strength, I will do my best," said Abdulmalik, who romped off with the Most Valuable Player trophy.

For Madi Nji, Leylam's other Nigerian recruit, waiting for the men's open final was all worth it even as he is heading to Lebanon to play for a professional team in there.

Nji was slapped with a red card after figuring in a fight with Don Bosco United's Bong Aller during the semifinals.

"This is worth the wait. I felt that if I was able to play, we could have scored more. It wasn't fair that Leylam is playing with professional players, but the team (Leylam) never gave up ," said Nji.

It was a triple celebration for Leylam as Alex Buanghog was named by the organizing Cebu Football Association(CFA) as the best goal keeper and Jose Mari Demecillo the best defender.

Aside from the men's open title, Leylam also won the inter-company title a few weeks after representing the country in the Football Fives World Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

ERCO BRO has some consolation though, with Meleke Stephane coming out as the best midfielder and Jade Paghubasan the best striker with nine goals.

It was indeed a sorry loss for BRO ERCO of coach Glenn Ramos considering that they were reinforced by five Manila players including former Philippine Azkals skipper Chieffy Caligdong and Ian Araneta.  (FREEMAN)