PFF-Smart Club semis kicks off today

MANILA, Philippines - Four teams remain in pursuit of the first PFF-Smart Club championship with two of them taking the spotlight today as the crossover semifinals kick off at the University of Makati football field.

Group A topnotcher Rizal-Smart San Beda FC, runner-up Teknika FC, Group B leader Pachanga-NCR FC and second placer Smart-Stallions FC of Barotac Nuevo vie for the two slots up for grabs in the two-match title series starting on Saturday.

Based on the tournament format, the Rizal booters, bannered by Phil and James Younghusband, and Stallions collide in one of the knockout semis matches while Teknika takes on Pachanga in a battle of tough NCR squads in the other encounter.

Set at 6 p.m., the matches today and tomorrow were to be decided during the drawing of lots at the team managers’ meeting presided by PFF Competitions Committee chairman Dick Emperado scheduled late yesterday.

But Metro Manila football fans will be glad to know that they can watch both games for free, according to Smart Sports executive Epok Quimpo.

“Now our Big City fans will be able to witness top flight football action that our provincial aficionados were able to watch during the group eliminations in Cagayan de Oro and Iloilo,” Quimpo said. “And it will be all for free.”     

Both games promise to be exciting, action-packed contests, with the San Beda-Stallions clash expected to be a showcase of up-tempo attacking football while the Pachanga-Teknika meeting could be a bruising one between two sides beefed up each by soccer-savvy African players.

“We really wanted to face San Beda in the semifinals and this promises to be an interesting match,” said Stallions coach Ernie Nierras, who also mentors the national women’s team. “We prepared hard for them and I hope my boys can make it to the finals.”

San Beda coach Aris Caslib said he would not take his semifinal opponent for granted “because we know what Barotac Nuevo is capable of.”

“They have good coaching in coach Ernie and some of their players are former national team members,” Caslib said. “The Stallions are a dangerous team.”

Aside from the Younghusband brothers, Caslib can also count on ex-national players such as skipper Dan Fornea and Jeremias Jao, who was once Chieffy Caligdong’s reliever, to lead San Beda’s challenge.

The Barotac Nuevo footballers also boast of former national standouts in Jovannie Simpron and Ruben Doctora plus two talented South Korean players - Lee Jeo Young and Nam Yeoh No - who can cause headaches for the San Beda defense.