DAVAO City suffered a heartbreaking 2-3 loss to Bacolod City in the semi-finals of the PFF-Suzuki U23 National Cup held at the Central Philippine University in Iloilo City late Monday afternoon.
Bacolod knocked in three straight goals in the first half, capitalizing on the loose defense of Davao booters.
The Davao eleven, coached by Ramonito "Lalas" Carreon, got their acts together in the second half allowing Aldinn Taborin to secure a long shot goal followed up by Joey Arobo's goal via a one-on-one with Bacolod's goalkeeper.
Carreon, who also mentored the silver medal finish of the Davao Region Athletic Association (Davraa) in the secondary boys football of the just concluded Palarong Pambansa in Dapitan City, said they could have drew that match had there been 10 more minutes.
"Our rally came in the second half and we felt the panic of Bacolod as the pro-Davao Iloilo crowd also boosted our rally. But it was not enough to force a draw or to win the match. My apology to all Dabawenyos for losing in the Palaro and in the U23. We lost with honor though. Davao still kept the respect of the football community," Carreon said in a text message to Sun.Star Davao Monday night.
Carreon likened their U23 semis match to what happened to Davraa in the Palaro finals against archrival Central Visayas.
He said in both games, their rivals scored in the first half and Davao rallied only in the final half to no avail.
He, however, said there was nothing to be bitter about.
He added, "I don't feel bad that we lost. I'm the kind of coach that would still feel okay about a defeat upon seeing that my players fought hard and played with their hearts. I saw the boys did just that so it's okay."
In an interview in Dapitan, Carreon praised the Davao Football Association for keeping the sport alive and raising the level of competition high.
"I believe in Davao FA's direction of not just promoting football but also intensifying the sport in the grassroots level. Some of our players may no longer be eligible to play in the next Palaro but more new players will be up to the task," he said.
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on May 18, 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment