Limpag: An unforgettable night for Cebu footballBy Mike T. Limpag
Fair Play
Saturday, November 17, 2012
BOOM! The Cebu City sports Center erupted when Marwin Angeles scored the goal against Singapore in the first international friendly played in Cebu.
Boom! The cheers were equally loud when Ed Sacapaño, the former starter turned no. 2 turned starter, stopped that penalty--a dubious call I later learned from Bob Guerrero--late in the first half.
And, I think, the cheers were louder for Ed, too, when he had yet another brilliant stop late in the second half, when the curling free kick from Singapore sailed over the wall.
Ed, for many, was the hero of that game.
But there’s another winner of the game, too.
And that’s Cebu.
Sure there were some hitches, especially on security and the not-so-nice view of the media row, but for a three-and-a-half-months’ preparation?
I think the local organizers did quite well. (By the way, the CFA has asked me to tell them any critiques in time for next week’s assesment, so if you have a few words to share, just e-mail me.)
The crowd, too, was quite awesome.
“You could just close your eyes and follow what was happening by listening to the crowd,” Dan Palami told me after the match. “I’d take a crowd like that, anywhere.”
Even the weather cooperated. It seems the rains poured just enough to water the field and it stopped just close to game time.
As for the Kaholeros of Cebu? Who spent the whole 90 minutes on their feet shouting themselves coarse? And prior to that, I think, they spent another 180 minutes preparing themselves, after yet another sleepless day going over the preparation.
Man, they deserve a salute.
So, too, do the volunteers of the CFA. Guys like Josaphat Sacil, the former player of Graeme Mackinnon, who could play almost all positions in his prime. He’s still an all-around guy, too, this time for a different cause. He helped with the painting of the field, laminating, printing of IDs. There’s Tito, Jinggoy, coach Jan and lots of other volunteers who chipped in.
Makes you wonder, they seem to have gotten most of the things right in their first time to hold this friendly.
Could there be more in the offing?
There could be as there are talks of another one with Kuwait next year, or even one with Vietnam.
But, I think, the bigger question is, before we entertain the idea of hosting another friendly is would the field—as pristine as it is now—survive the Sinulog season?
I hope it would.
Because Cebu just showed it could hold a game here. international football in the country isn’t limited to Manila and Bacolod anymore.
And if the Philippines wants to host the AFC Challenge Cup finals in 2014?
We need the CCSC field again.
(www.cebufootball.blogspot.com)
www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/sports/2012/11/17/limpag-unforgettable-night-cebu-football-253692
Pages: Azkals in Cebu: What a kick-startBy John Pages
Match Point
Saturday, November 17, 2012
WASN’T Thursday night perfect?
After the afternoon skies darkened and the clouds unleashed their wet venom, weren’t we all begging our Lord, Oh no, please don’t let it rain!
It did not. Instead, the sky’s ceiling was pitch-dark, perfect for down below, the green pitch...
The green pitch was outstanding. Talk about surprises. Talk about transforming a dusty field into a golf course that’s called a soccer field. Wow. Everybody applauded the grass. Michael Weiss. The Singaporeans. And us, the spectators, numbering 7,000 eyeballs, all gazing and awestruck at the green field.
The venue, the Cebu City Sports Center? This is our own Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. Our sports headquarters. You know what’s amazing? Coupled with the majestic green pitch was the majestic maroon-colored rubberized oval. Again, exemplary timing: the oval gets renovated just months before 11-15-2012.
The lights? Were those lights? Or was that the sun beaming its rays on CCSC? I counted dozens, hundreds, of floodlights that flooded the arena. This is what happens when the president of the Cebu Football Association (CFA) is one of this island’s mightiest of construction magnates: the stadium is bright as noon.
Thanks to Ricky Dakay, the engineer (or “doctor,” since he’s earned a Doctorate in Engineering in the U.S.) who owns Dakay Construction and Development Corp.
What else? Fireworks, like sparkling Christmas lights, colored the starless, black sky. The Kaholeros—more than 300-strong and standing across the stadium-full of spectators—lost all their voices by Friday morning. They screamed and danced and were gifted by the Azkals team a personal visit at game’s end.
THE GAME? Was it perfect? The 1-0 final score, no doubt, was splendid.
But the first half? Ha-ha. Don’t call me “Amalayer” when I say this: The Azkals were lousy. Were these our national players? They get hold of the ball... then lose it in 10 seconds. The Lions held the ball 70 percent of the time. It was a mismatch. Singapore would make zigzag, pinpoint passes; we’d scramble and turn over the football. “The first half was one of the least spectacular performances we’ve seen under my guidance... We’re lucky we’re not punished,” said coach Weiss.
True. In those first 45 minutes, we could easily have gone down, 0-2. Or, 0-3. They had chances after chances, especially that free kick. Thankfully, we ended the half at 0-all.
The second half? What a difference. With the Younghusbands, the Azkals were a different animal. In the first half they were puppies; in the second half, they became rabid, hungry, thirsty, salivating “azkals.” They were dogs. And how the dogs would run around and defeat—in the animal kingdom—the bigger and stronger lions.
We held ball possession. We defended. We attempted on multiple occasions. We were aggressive. We were in command.
The hero? Of course: Ed Sacapaño of Bacolod, the goalie who stopped the spinning ball from hitting our net. Thanks to the man from the City of Smiles, we smiled.
CEBU. Last Thursday night was a moment-changer. The new CCSC plus the upcoming USC Talamban field (picturesque, by the mountains) will convert Sugbu into a national powerhouse football venue.
Sure, Manila is our nation’s capital—but most athletes prefer Cebu because, very often, our spectators are noisier, more rabid. We bark. We are azkals-like fans. We’re the azkals watching the azkals. Dan Palami, the country’s Mr. Football himself, couldn’t be happier with Cebu.
Mayor Michael Lopez Rama, while the game was ongoing in the early minutes, was not watching. Instead, he and Ricky Dakay toured the CCSC grounds—pointing at areas to improve. In my conversation with the mayor last Friday night, he repeatedly called the event, “superb.”
This is teamwork. It’s the private and public sectors passing the ball to one another, like James and Phil, to achieve a common goal.
The goal? To goal.
To Dan Palami, the new CFA, and the rest of the tireless volunteers and organizers: What a kick-start you’ve given Cebu football.
www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/sports/2012/11/17/pages-azkals-cebu-what-kick-start-253798