MP United in for tougher Pilipinas Cup stint

MP United players pose for a group photo before a practice session at the Oleai Sports Complex Field. (Contributed Photo)

MP United will be joining the U17 division contest of the Pilipinas Cup, which will be held from Oct. 27 to 30 at the Nuvali-Evoliving Field in Laguna. The club’s U17 squad will be battling the division championship against 10 other squads, including last year’s U18 finalists Ateneo de Manila University and Loyola Meralco Sparks FC. Completing the field are Forza FC, Higala FC, Invictus FC, Iriga City-USANT, Team Socceroo, RC Tanuan Labuyo, Green Archers United FC, and University of Batangas.

“A lot of good teams are in the tournament this year,” said coach Norman Del Rosario, who led MP United to a third place finish in the U18 division last year, allowing the club to leave a mark in the annual tournament.

MP United rose from an unknown team to a contender when it swept its first two games last year, beating Sta. Rosa FC, 4-1, and Manila Jeepney FC, 2-0. The visiting team squad went on to advance to the semis, but lost to eventual back-to-back champion Meralco (0-6), which was bannered by the all-collegiate players of Far Eastern University. MP United was then relegated to the third place match and stunned the favored La Salle Green Hills, 2-1.

MP United hopes to ride on the momentum of its third place finish last year when it returns to the Philippines this month and aims to equal if not surpass its accomplishment in 2013.

“Pilipinas Cup is a tough competition. The process that a team will go through just to be part of it is already hard, so if you get the nod from the organizer then definitely it means a lot already. It’s going to be harder this year, as some of the guys that played in last year’s tournament will not going to be available this time due to age, SAT exams, and school activities. As much as we want all of them to come with us, we encourage them to prioritize their study. In addition, I know some teams in our age group have intact rosters so that will be an advantage to them,” Del Rosario said.

MP United will make up for the lack of an intact roster by fielding a much fitter team this year.

“One thing we learned from last year’s competition is physical conditioning/fitness. It played a big role in the games. If you are not physically fit it will be hard for you to play every day with just hours of recovery time. During the pre-season of the fall league we started early with our strength and conditioning training and we still incorporate them to our regular training,” Del Rosario said.

He added that the squad will go all out at the field whether they are winning or losing.

“We will play all out and leave everything in the field from the start up to the final whistle,” said Del Rosario, who will finalize the team’s roster next week.