TanHoldings, MPU clinch division titles

A TanHoldings Football Club player, right, kicks the ball in front of a Kanoa-2 defender during their game in the co-ed U12 division of the NMIFA youth league last Saturday at the Hopwood Junior High School Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Two more division championships were won in the 2017 NMIFA Youth Spring League with TanHoldings securing the co-ed U12 crown and MP United notching the boys U14 title.

TanHoldings reigned supreme in the co-ed U12 division as it finished the two-round robin competition with a 6-2-2 win-draw-loss record. It put icing on the cake after crushing Kanoa FC-2, 11-1, last Saturday at the Hopwood Junior High School Field.

Angelo Pulito and Anthony John Bergancia capped TanHoldings outstanding showing this season as they scored three goals apiece. Mark Joseph Roque added two, while Harry Chrisrian Domulot, Ariel Narvaez, and Anthony Austria contributed one each for TanHoldings, which earned 19 points in 10 games for a two-point lead against runner-up MP United.

MP United, which took the co-ed U12 crowns in the spring of 2015 and 2016, faltered on its three-peat bid after wrapping up this season with a 5-2-1 mark and 17 points.

Right behind MP United was fall season champion Kanoa FC-1, which ended its campaign last Saturday with a 9-6 triumph over Matansa. Kanoa-1 earned a 5-1-2 record and 16 points. Sean Gil, Jim Kurt Maniago, and Andrew Sablan scored two goals apiece in their final game for Kanoa-1 this season, while John Mark Anastacio, Daniel Mar Pablo, and Rodgel Mangalao chipped in one each.

Matansa, which is at fourth spot with its 1-0-6 slate, drew hat tricks from Alex Megino and Jin Wen Xin. Matansa has one more game this season, as it plays Kanoa-FC 2 on April 22. Kanoa FC-2, whose lone goal against TanHoldings last weekend came from Leland Isaiah Deleon Guerrero, is still winless in seven games.

Meanwhile, MP United claimed the boys U14 championship after forcing a draw against TanHoldings last Saturday at the Hopwood pitch.

Chris Kim made the crucial equalizer for MP United in the 24th minute, while Richard Waldo scored the lone goal for TanHoldings in the third.

MP United improved to a 6-3-0 record with one game left in the double-round robin contest, while TanHoldings also has one remaining match, but since it fell to a 4-4-1 slate after the draw, the latter could no longer catch the former and share the top spot in the six-team field. MP United will play Kanoa in its last game set for April 22, while TanHoldings will collide against Paire.

With MP United bagging the boys U14 title and TanHoldings winning the co-ed U12 to join girls U15 champion Shirley’s FC to the Promised Land, only one division crown is at stake—the boys U17.

In other results in the boys U14 division last Saturday, Matansa shut down Kanoa, 3-0, while Shirley’s got a free win (forfeit over Paire).

Lolobeyong Benito had a pair of goals, while John Edward Fabia tallied one for Matansa, which is in fourth place in the team standings with it 3-3-3 card. Kanoa is ranked fifth with its 2-2-4 ark. Shirley’s is slightly ahead of Matansa after improving its mark to 4-0-5, while Paire is still winless at 0-2-7.