Bleachers' Brew #287 Galaxy dreams

This appears in the Monday, December 5, 2011 edition of the Business Mirror.

Galaxy dreams

by rick olivares

The Philippine Men’s National Team kicked off 2011 with a memorable 2-0 win over visiting Mongolia and they closed out the year with a memorable 6-1 rout by the globetrotting Los Angeles Galaxy.

It’s been a most eventful year for Philippine football with incredible highs and deflating lows. Having the Galaxy in Manila for an exhibition match was a huge thrill and an incredible experience. Yet lost in all the euphoria of meeting and chatting with David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, Bruce Arena, and Mike Magee is that 6-1 rout. So I’ve got mixed feelings. Since when are we happy about being on the receiving end of a buttkicking? This is the worst loss since that 8-1 beating to a Thai club team last year before the Azkals went to Vietnam for the Suzuki Cup.

Nevertheless, the match left some indelible impressions and memories that still has me smiling and shaking my head in disbelief (see I said I had mixed feelings) after a friend pointed out that Indonesia only lost 1-0 to Becks and company.

A mutual admiration society

In the very first possession of the game, Azkals’ striker Phil Younghusband tried to win the ball from Beckham and instead clipped the English football star’s foot. Beckham hobbled about in pain for a few seconds leaving the entire crowd and Galaxy bench (and no doubt manager Simon Fuller and Paris Saint Germain FC) stunned and worried. Becks walked it off and made the Philippines pay in the 20^th minute with a goal. The night however, ended rather wondrously in spite of the drubbing and Beckham handed over a signed jersey to beaming Phil at the post-match press conference. Younghusband was like a little kid inside a massive toy store. Merry Christmas, Phil!

Los Angeles has its own Big Three

The Galaxy isn’t all Becks. We got to see first hand at how fast and good Keane is. Without the absent Brazilian central playmaker Juninho, Keane filled in magnificently with incredible bursts of speed with pinpoint passing. Becks scored. Keano scored. Donovan assisted Mike Magee and Adam Cristman on a pair of goals. The Galaxy’s Big Three all contributed mightily to their win.

Serving up a clinic

The day before match day, the Galaxy gave a clinic for kids at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. The following day, it was the Azkals who got served. The Carson, California-based club showed how they dominated the game with possession, excellent on and off ball skills, patience and resolve. When the current Major League Soccer Cup champions saw that the Azkals could play some you could see them raise their game a notch higher (and this wasn’t even them at their best). They hardly turned the ball over and made few mistakes. At one point, I counted at least 15 consecutive uninterrupted passes. How on earth do you allow that?

Remember, the MLS Cup ended on November 20. That was 13 days ago. The Galaxy’s intensity and focus has wavered so much from that time. They’ve been traveling and jet-lagged (with one more long flight to Melbourne, Australia and back to Los Angeles before it’s all done). The team is in flux as their starting keeper Donovan Ricketts has been traded to Montreal, some like Donovan and Beckham are looking at the January transfer window in Europe.

Classic Beckham

Beckham at 36 years of age scored on a trademark shot from about 20 yards. Keane sent a forward pass to Magee who in turn attempted a cross to the middle. Azkals centerback Carli de Murga blocked it. Magee retrieved the ball and sent it out to Keane who backed up. The Ireland international set up Beckham but the pass was a little short. Beckham had to double time before de Murga and defender Jason Sabio could get to it. The result was a classic goal that bent right in the second post far from the reach of keeper Ed Sacapaño.

Those goals

In the Galaxy’s second goal, Magee ran up the middle with Keane to the left and Donovan to the right. Magee right footed it to Donovan who pulled up for a brief second and drew two defenders. LA’s captain sent it back to Magee who has moved into better shooting position and fired towards the first post and found the back of the net. 2-nil LA.

The Azkals’ Angel Guirado responded with a deft forward pass to Younghusband outside the box and who only had defender AJ delaGarza to beat. Younghusband fooled delaGarza into thinking he was going right then shifted left. Younghusband fired using his left foot and two-time MLS keeper of the Year Josh Saunders flailed in the air as the Azkals pulled one back.

The second half had barely started and LA won a corner. Beckham’s left corner drifted off the second post but second half substitute, midfielder Jovan Kirovski headed the ball back inside the box as a couple of Philippine defenders raised their hand to signal an offside. The flag stayed down and Keane, showing keen presence of mind, got ahead of four defenders to hammer it home. 3-1 LA. The pressure is lifted from the Galaxy as they had enough cushion to be a little more adventurous.

For the Philippines, the goal was disastrous. The defense subsequently fell completely apart.

On a counter, Donovan sent a perfect forward pass to Adam Cristman who earlier replaced Sean Franklin as a third striker. As Donovan raced up the left flank, Cristman and midfielder Hector Jimenez lined up with him to stay onside. When the pass came, there was only one Philippine defender to help Sacapaño. We had no chance. Cristman headed it home and the rout was on.

In the 81^st minute, Kirovski was tripped up inside the box by Anton del Rosario and defender Greg Berhalter, who should be joining the Galaxy as a fulltime assistant coach as his career winds down, scored a penalty kick to make it 5-1.

In another defensive howler in the 87^th minute, Cristman struck for a brace when finished off a well-placed header by a teammate that found him open and unmarked to the horror of three flatfooted Azkals defenders following an perfect head flick by a teammate.

LA head coach Bruce Arena, Donovan, and Beckham all praised the Azkals for their competitiveness. They did admit the first half was to close for comfort before they put the game away in the second. They singled out Younghusband (who drew rave reviews from the American commentators on board Fox Sports), Guirado, and Caligdong as the players they were impressed with. Love was thrown around and the Dream Cup, as the game was billed, left many in a dream state myself included. Rizal was packed, the crowd was great and that opens the possibility of hosting other football clubs and international tournaments in the future.

The sobering reality is at the end of it is although we are definitely on the right track, it's going to take a lot of work to become a regional football power.

Formations:

Josh Saunders

Sean Franklin      Omar Gonzalez      AJ delaGarza      Frankie Hejduk

Chris Birchall        Mike Magee        David Beckham

Bryan Jordan        Robbie Keane        Landon Donovan

Phil Younghusband

Angel Guirado

Chieffy Caligdong        Chris Greatwich        James Younghusband

Manny Ott

Ray Jonsson       Jason Sabio       Rob Gier       Anton del Rosario

Ed Sacapaño

-------------------

Above: With match referees Jovanie Villagracia, Robert Hernandez, Grant Rojas, and Steve Supresencia about two hours before kick off. Below: with Esquire Philippines' Kissa Castañeda and Ryan Fenix at the lower grandstand.

Moderating part of the post-match presscon (Michael Weiss, Landon Donovan and Bruce Arena).

Some people are saying that had we our full team it might have been different. Really? Since when did we have a full team? How often are they together? How often do they practice as one unit? Even when they were there was the passing great? Until we start beating teams on a consistent and regular basis it's all speculation. Some people are being too hard on Ed Sacapaño when the defense was downright terrible. The Galaxy had their way.

Some thoughts on the ongoing 2011 PBA Philippine Cup

Some thoughts on the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup:

Could Gabby Espinas going the route of Arwind Santos? From a silent contributor to a force on both ends of the court (minus the rim rattling jams)? He’s been playing well this year and I sure hope he kicks it up another notch.

Maybe Nonoy Baclao should force a trade elsewhere. I know his lack of a consistent offense hurts but he can develop that with more playing time. Maybe with Powerade, Barako, or even Alaska. Time to move, bud. Petron, as I told you from the time of the trade, is not the team for you. I should start a FREE NONOY BACLAO movement.

Watching Alex Crisano is like seeing Brock Lesnar play in the PBA.

Since sports is now big here, anyone want to bring back Pinoy Pro Wrestling? Maybe Alex Crisano and Rudy Hatfield can join up.

At this point, I believe the problems of Alaska are all mental. Watching them, they get frustrated and they’re seemingly impatient with each other at times. I figure the losing does that.

Is Arwind Santos the best player in the PBA now? I’d say yes. Not James Yap. Coz Arwind gets the job done on both ends of the floor.

If I could move some players in some team, say Ginebra, they would be the following: Josh Urbiztondo, Cyrus Baguio, Dorian Peña, Nonoy Baclao, Gary David, JR Quiñahan, and Jared Dillinger.

Meralco vs Powerade

Petron vs Ginebra

Lightning Bolts strikes Powerade down twice

Lightning Bolts strikes Powerade down twice

by rick olivares phoot by brosi gonzales

December 2, 2011

Smart Araneta Coliseum

If you ask the Powerade Tigers if lightning does strike twice you can be sure that they’ll nod yes although somewhat disbelievingly.

The Meralco Bolts, for the second time in less than a month, piped the Tigers by two, 100-98, last Friday. In the two squad’s first encounter this Philippine Cup, the Bolts also prevailed by two, 98-96, after entering the fourth period with a five-point deficit.

As it was in the first meeting between the two, forward Gabby Espinas and swingman Mark Cardona, were the bane of the Tigers.

Espinas, the former Philippine Christian University star who won an NCAA title in 2005, scored 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds but it was his defensive stops at the endgame that proved to be the difference for Meralco.

With the Bolts holding on to a 100-95 lead, the Tigers’ Doug Kramer drove hard to the basket. Espinas blocked his layup attempt but Powerade’s Sean Anthony got hold of the loose ball. The Fil-Canadian went straight back to the hoop where Espinas not only rejected him but controlled the board.

Cardona and teammate Chico Lanete gave Meralco a massive lift at the start of the fourth period after both teams played to a standstill after three quarters 76-all. Both players scored seven points early in the fourth to give Meralco some breathing room in the end game.

Both sides had opportunities to either put the game away or come closer but they degenerated into a series of missed shots but none more costly than for Powerade.

After Espinas’ Mutombo-esque stops, Asi Taulava muffed a layup. Powerade gave the advantage back to Meralco when Anthony flubbed two free throws with 28 seconds left. On the other end, Taulava missed a pair of freebies as well.

However, this time, Marcio Lassiter was up to the task as he hit a triple with 20.5 seconds left to put Powerade behind by a deuce, 98-100. Meralco held on in the game’s final moments for the win.

Espinas chalked up his seventh double double of the season. Powerade’s Doug Kramer also tabbed his ninth double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Petron’s Arwind Santos leads the league in that statistic with 10.

It was a proud Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio who beamed after the game: “Coming into the game, it was clear that our intention was to fight for character of team. We know we’re in the playoffs but that is not our destination. The most wins we’ve had are seven in a conference. We really motivated our players not against Powerade but against ourselves. We have a chance to get better in terms of wins and we were able to achieve it.”

The win gave Meralco an 8-5 record and put them at solo fourth in the ten-team standings. The Tigers loss put them at 5-8 and kept Alaska in the hunt for the eighth and final seat for the quarterfinals.

Meralco 100 - Mercado 23, Cardona 17, Espinas 14, Lanete 9, Macapagal 9, Hugnatan 6, Yee 5, Taulava 5, Borboran 4, Isip 4, Omolon 4, Timberlake 0.

Powerade 98 – David 25, Kramer 16, Anthony 14, Casio 13, Lassiter 9, Vanlandingham 7, Lingganay 6, Adducul 6, Cruz 2, Crisano 0, Antonio 0.

Caguioa sneaks Ginebra past Petron

Caguioa sneaks Ginebra past Petron

by rick olivares photo by brosi gonzales

December 2, 2011

Smart Araneta Coliseum

Trying to recover fading glory, Barangay Ginebra showed they still have some fight in them when they threw a haymaker Petron Blaze’s way, absorbed a counter to the jaw, before they sneaked in one last jab to take the win.

Mark Caguioa drilled a huge jumper after a huge pick (and an offensive rebound) by Rico Villanueva on Denok Miranda for an 89-86 lead with 40 seconds left to play. The Blaze Boosters called time and on their next offensive, Villanueva was caught in no man’s land when he found himself atop the three-point arc guarding Alex Cabagnot.

Cabagnot had rifled in five of six attempts from long distance and as he scored five points in the fourth period and 25 overall up to that point, it was obvious that the play was called for him. The Petron guard drove towards the middle, faked the Ginebra center off his high tops and drained the equalizer, 89-all, with 11 seconds left in the shot clock.

It was Ginebra’s turn to call time with 27.1 seconds left. The Kings set a two-man high screen for Caguioa to claim the ball from point guard Mike Cortez. After the Kings’ go-to-player received the rock with Cabagnot on him, he drove right and looked to use the screens for him. Petron’s defense shifted and Caguioa spotted teammate Willy Wilson going in for a potential offensive board. With no defender in sight, Caguioa zipped a bullet to Wilson who was wide open underneath the basket. Petron’s Joseph Yeo tried to block the shot but was whistled for a foul off an and-one, 91-89 Ginebra.

With 3.9 seconds left in the match, Danny Ildefonso found himself atop the arc with the ball and his teammates unable to collect a pass. The veteran center threw up a meek shot that was well short of the mark and the Kings escaped with a win that gave them a 6-5 record that’s good for seventh place despite being tied with Barako Bull with a game at hand.

Petron, fell from the first to second place with a 9-4 record as Talk ‘N Text at 8-3 reclaimed the top spot without having played the Alaska Aces, their final assignment of the elimination round.

The Blaze Boosters’ head coach Ato Agustin lamented the non-call of a traveling violation of Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid at the 1:52 mark of the fourth period. Tubid earlier rebounded a missed drive by Yeo. As the Boosters surrounded him, Tubid signaled for a timeout but the referees were unable to see it. The Kings’ forward, who scored 16 points in the match, was finally awarded the time out but not before he had taken two extra steps.

Ginebra grabbed two extra possessions when Wilson and Villanueva hauled down offensive rebounds after misses by Cortez and Caguioa. The Kings consumed 54 seconds off the game clock before Caguioa hit that long jumper.

Although the two squads battled through two deadlocks and five lead changes, Petron briefly regained the lead after Danny Ildefonso hit a turnaround baseline jumper on Villanueva for a 61-60 lead with 4:38 left in the third period. Ronald Tubid restored the lead for the Kings after he knocked down a triple in Ginebra’s ensuing offensive. It was a lead they would not relinquish.

The Kings also benefitted from a late fourth quarter 10-point lead at the 8:33 mark of the fourth quarter when JC Intal scored on a putback of his own miss. It was sufficient enough cushion for the crowd favorites as Petron launched a last ditch rally that culminated with Cabagnot’s game-tying trey.

Caguioa was sensational all game long as he topscored for his side with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists with zero turnovers in 34 minutes of play.

Ginebra 91 – Caguioa 22, Tubid 16, Villanueva 14, Cortez 12, Intal 8, Wilson W. 6, Mamaril 6, Canaleta 5, Labagala 2, Wilson J. 0.

Petron Blaze 89 – Cabagnot 28, Santos 14, Miranda 14, Reyes 11, Ildefonso 8, Yeo 7, Tugade 7, Doruelo 0, Agustin 0, Baclao 0, Sharma 0.

Outtakes from Chieffy Caligdong's first solo TV commercial

Tomorrow, Saturday, December 3, 2011, the new Gatorade commercial featuring Chieffy Caligdong (in his first solo feature) will make its debut during the Azkals-Los Angeles Galaxy match. Chief was one of those players that I have been pushing since early this year. It took a bit of a push but it happened. And he rightfully deserves it.

The commercial was shot from November 24 & 25 at the Marikina Sports Center that featured over 1,200 extras including footballers from Kaya Cignal FC, Loyola Meralco Sparks, Union FC, Laos FC and a few others. They recreated Chief's goal from the Mongolia match. Watch for a few promos with Da Chief!

A chat with the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan

Landon Donovan is one of Gatorade’s worldwide endorsers and when the Los Angeles Galaxy was coming over we just had to do something with him locally. At first the plan was to do a Facebook chat then conduct a presscon with members of the media. As of last night, the presscon was chucked because of time constraints and we were left with the chat of which Landon was totally game for.

We spoke of how to go about the chat last night and got to meet the other members of the Galaxy while doing so. And it was just great meeting these guys. As much as a thrill it was meeting Landon, David Beckham and Robbie Keane with a funny exchange at the end of it about Manchester United and Liverpool, it was also cool meeting Mike Magee, Omar Gonzalez, Josh Saunders, and Frankie Hejduk.

I got less than two hours of sleep last night and arrived in the office pretty early to prep for the chat. I put in some writing there before going to venue for chat.

Once Landon went down to the conference hall, it was clear right away that it was going to be a fun session. Not only did he work on everything that he needed to do but he also nailed his spiels easily. Now the Facebook chat – it was his first time and he was excited about doing it.  Landon tried to read and answer as much. There were some questions that he wanted to answer but couldn’t such as choosing who was better – Pele or Diego Maradona. He did talk highly of Lionel Messi though. Some other things that didn’t make the chat wall -- the NBA’s return. He’s a Lakers fan and he seems concerned about the possible move of Chris Paul to the New York Knicks. Talked about the NFL some and Liverpool and Everton (he found out that I was a Reds fan). That was hilarious.

Of the hundreds of questions that poured in (I moderated the chat and received a lot of help from my colleagues), Captain America was able to answer about 36 of them. He read a lot of them and got a kick out many of them.

It was an enjoyable and fun hour-and-a-half.

No sleep ‘til the Azkals-LA Galaxy kickoff

No sleep ‘til the Azkals-LA Galaxy kickoff

by rick olivares photo by brosi gonzales

Philippine Men’s Football National Team midfielder Emelio “Chieffy” Caligdong said that if he were to score a goal in the friendly match with the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy in the friendly match this Saturday, he thinks that he won’t be able to sleep.

However, judging by the massive reaction the Major League Soccer team received yesterday when they arrived on a chartered plane inbound from Indonesia, it’s the rest of the Philippines that won’t be able to sleep a wink with kick-off a little more than a day away.

Azkals team captain Aly Borromeo who will be unavailable for the match as he is recuperating from a knee injury could not contain his excitement about meeting the American-squad. “Can you believe what has happened in a year’s time?” he gushed after the press conference held at the Makati Shangri-La. “I would watch them on television and when I am in the United States and now they’re here. I won’t be able to play but sitting beside David Beckham and Landon Donovan in the press conference is good enough.”

The Galaxy’s flight to Manila was delayed for while and the players seemed a bit tired. However, during the cocktail party thrown by organizers at Conway’s Bar at the Makati Shangri-La, the team led by head coach Bruce Arena was most gracious in answering questions and posing for photographs. “It’s been a fantastic reception that we’ve received from the Filipino people. The people have been warm and very friendly,” noted Arena who aside from piloting the Galaxy to the 2011 MLS Cup also once coached the US National Football Team in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. “And they definitely know their soccer. And this tour of Asia helps put a stamp to the Galaxy and MLS brand across the world. We’ve heard so much of the Philippines and it will be good to see what it has to offer. I hope our schedule permits that.”

In the press conference held earlier in the evening, the Galaxy’s star midfielder David Beckham, who looked a bit exhausted by the long trip from Indonesia said, “We had a difficult game yesterday (the LA club won 1-0 over the Indonesian national team). Our legs haven’t come back yet. We expect the game to be difficult. We know there are talented players here. But we want to win the game no matter if it’s a friendly.”

In a quick interview during the cocktail party, Beckham also said that he is still undecided whether to re-sign with the Galaxy or go back to Europe with French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint Germaine of where reports have it that the English football star is offered a whopping €15 million for a mere 18-month contract. While a move to the City of Light places Beckham closer to England where he hopes to don the Three Lions kit in next year’s London Olympics for one last stint, the move is also a potential landmine as he is endorsing adidas while PSG is outfitted by Nike. “I’ll make that decision when before the year’s done.”

Should the England football icon choose to cross the Pacific all the way to France, the 36-year old Beckham will be reunited with PSG’s Brazilian manager Leonardo for whom he played with in 2010 during a loan spell with Italian giants AC Milan. “There’s always a lure of helping a club, any club, win.”

When I informed him that he won silverware in his final year with Manchester United, Real Madrid and the Los Angeles Galaxy, Beckham offered a smile. “That’s the clincher. You want to win as much as you can.”

Galaxy team captain Landon Donovan also expressed a desire to play the Azkals of whom he’s heard much about from a club official of Filipino origin. “We’ve heard so much about what’s going down here and we’ll just try to do our best.”

Justin Pearson, Donovan’s agent who is along for the trip, expressed concern about the team getting some rest. “We all thought that when people said Asia that all the countries were close to one another. But it’s a four-hour-plus flight from Indonesia and another nine-hour ride to Australia. Everyone’s eyes were bulging! But they’ll come out and be competitive.”

Added Arena: “We expect to play 100% and we look forward to a real competitive match.”

The Carson, California-based Galaxy will hold a football clinic from 1:30-3:30pm at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium then practice for their match tomorrow from 3:30-5:30pm. After the Saturday evening match with the Azkals, the Galaxy will fly to Melbourne, Australia, the last stop of their three-city Asian tour before returning to the United States.

At the TV5 Christmas Party at the NBC Tent

After hanging out with the Los Angeles Galaxy, I went to the Tv5 Christmas Party at the NBC Tent with colleagues Ryan Fenix and Cedelf Tupas. It was an amazing way to end one's day. Quite honestly, I was star struck. Was real shy to have a pic taken with all the beautiful actresses and entertainers around. I did summon up the courage later in the evening. Thanks to Eric Reyes and to Paul for pushing me. Hahaha. But who would have thought this would happen? Am just so grateful to be in the midst of all of this. For me and Ryan and Cedelf, it's like a dream come true. 

Hanging out with Dickie and Cathy Rivilla, Jojo Durian, Phil and James Younghusband at the party. It's good seeing friendly faces. Said Phil: Never thought my destiny would lie in Manila. But it's a good feeling. Imagine what changed in a year's time!

With my old colleague from Solar Sports Vitto Lazzatin. There are quite a few of us ex-Solar peeps here at AKTV. Imagine this. And we used to do Sports Desk. Have more pics in my Facebook account.

Meeting the Los Angeles Galaxy (in Manila)

Thursday, December 1, 2011. This is me with David Beckham at the cocktail party for the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Makati Shangri-La. Asked Becks if he still follows his former clubs Manchester United and Real Madrid. His response: "Yes, I do. Once you're a part of those clubs you're a part of them forever. You cheer for United?"

Me: No. Ah, you're gonna strangle me now. I'm a Scouser. 

Becks: Let me choke you now! (to Robbie Keane) Hey, Robbo! This here's a 'pool fan."

With Landon Donovan. We'll be working on a live Facebook chat at the Gatorade Philippines page on Friday morning from 10:30-11:45am. We talked a bit about what we have to do and he's cool with it.

Above: with Robbie Keane! And below: with goalkeeper Josh Saunders, forward Mike Magee, central defender Omar Gonzalez, Dasan Robinson, and defender Frankie Hejduk. Got more pics in my Facebook.

Stallion bloodies Loyola’s nose but the Sparks move on

This appears in inthezone.com.ph

Stallion bloodies Loyola’s nose but the Sparks move on

In one of the best matches of the 2011 UFL Cup, Stallion FC showed that they will be a force to reckon with when they took the fight to Loyola. But the Sparks’ were rescued by a brace from Phil Younghusband.

by rick olivares with pics by brosi gonzales

November 30, 2011

University of Makati

On a day when the Philippines honored Andres Bonifacio whose courage and leadership gave birth to a revolution that eventually ousted the country’s Spanish colonial masters, a bloody battle for football supremacy was waged on the University of Makati pitch.

The Loyola Meralco Sparks by virtue of its pre-season build-up looked like a cinch to book a finals seat for the 2011 UFL Cup. In four matches leading to the quarterfinals clash with Stallion FC, Loyola had dominated previous opponents – Team Socceroo, Agila, Internacionale, and Sunken Garden United -- by scoring an average of 10.3 goals per match with striker Phil Younghusband tallying a league-best 22 goals.

They had not been tested all tournament long and if the Sparks are to fulfill their title aspirations, they had to go through the battle-tested and tough Stallion club that will be moving up to Division One when the league competition kicks off in January.

The Iloilo-based Stallion FC placed second in Group C, the tournament’s acknowledged “Group of Death” as it also had defending cup champions Global, newcomer powerhouse Pachanga, and Queen City United. Nierras’ team finished second behind Pachanga with six points dispatched Victory Liner-Diliman 2-1 in their Round of 16 match to book their ticket against the tournament favorites. “We want this to be the coming out party for Stallion,” promised Nierras who also minds the women’s national football team.

In response to their coach’s challenge, Stallion FC cried out of the huddle, “We are… Stallions!”

And this quarterfinals match up was like a battle between Athens and Sparta with Loyola Meralco Sparks the former and Stallion the latter (as Iloilo has long been sending out players to the national team to do combat in the international arena for flag and country). After 98 minutes of football (including added time), Loyola was marching on with a 2-1 win albeit with a bloodied nose.

In a high-intensity match highlighted by some great attacking and counter-attacking football, it will also be remembered for the rough game not seen since the Pachanga-Navy quarterfinals clash.

Clash. The word seems like an understatement in the light of the aggressive game that was played. The Illongos pressured the Sparks by crowding the ball carrier and playing the passing lanes from kickoff. Unused to that harassing tactics, Loyola quickly gave up possession and Stallion forced two corner shots in the first six minutes.

Unable to get any semblance of a decent passing game going, Loyola resorted to the occasional long ball and in the 10^th minute, Phil Younghusband corralled a pass and quickly beat his two defenders. Racing inside the box, the Fil-British striker was stopped but in the confusion between Stallion keeper Louie Sobrevega, starting in place of regular netminder Wilson Muñoz who was out with an injury sustained in their last match, and left back Jake Hugo as who would clear the ball, Younghusband poked in a goal for the first tally of the evening.

The match that had been dominated by Stallion up to that point dramatically swung Loyola’s way. But Stallion reminded Loyola that they were not going gently into the good night when Antonio Albor volleyed from some 30 yards out that the Sparks’ keeper Ref Cuaresma had to reach high to tip the shot away.

As the fouls piled up, so did the cards. And Stallion paid for it early on when defender and former national player Jason Cordova was sent off for a second yellow card following a tackle on Younghusband. Cordova disputed the card after the match and said that it was a decent tackle and did not merit a second caution.

The result was a red card and upon the match’s resumption, Loyola midfielder Matthew Hartmann sent a cross from the right flank that Younghusband headed in for his second goal.

The match turned more brutal as players from both sides taunted one another and gave life to the ancient warrior’s dictum of an eye for an eye by tackling one another, sneaking in punches and headbutts.

In the 84^th minute, following a failed attempt by Stallion’s Vincent Braga who had replaced the ineffective Jovanie Simpron at forward, the former still kicked at the ball even when it was in the possession of Cuaresma. The Loyola keeper contended that Braga hit him and he retaliated with a headbutt on the Stallion forward. Referee Emil Balidio responded by assessing Cuaresma and Braga a pair of red cards.

The Sparks sent in Gabriel Vorbeck at goal while removing midfielder Jake Morallo from play. The banishment of Braga in the meantime left Stallion with only nine players on the field.

No problem. Showing uncanny verve and resiliency, Nierras’ team renewed their attack and in the 78^th minute, Ruben Doctora Jr. found striker Joo Young Lee with a perfect lateral pass for a goal. 2-1, Loyola.

Stallion had another opportunity to level the match but Loyola’s besieged defenders held firm until full time.

“We expected a rough game,” said Loyola assistant coach Vince Santos after the match. “A game like this is not a simple walk in the park. Stallion also has it share of former national players and they have a team that is highly skilled. The rough style of play works well for them and it somewhat threw us off our game plan. The boys expected the rough stuff but still they reacted to it and we paid for it by losing Ref Cuaresma. They also got hurt for the rest of the game by losing Cordova and Braga. But as they say, ‘a win is a win.’ So we will look at the tape and see how we can address this style of play in the future.”

Nierras lamented what he believes were bad calls against his side. “Look at the fouls,” pointed out Nierras. Loyola was assessed 22 fouls while Stallion were whistled for eight. “Had we scored early in the game, this would have been a different result. But I am proud of my guys because we showed our character that we are not going to roll over for any team.”

Stallion had 18 shots on goal while Loyola managed only five. But Younghusband’s brace were enough to see them through the semifinal round where they will play Kaya Cignal FC on Monday.