4 Teen Ayuyus recognized

The coaching staff of the CNMI’s U15 and U18 national teams acknowledged the unwavering commitment of four players during the group’s summer training sessions.

John Bucayo, brothers John Guiller and John Ezekiel Canape, and Sebastien Manabat were recognized for having the best attendance in the Teen Ayuyus’ practices and preparations for the Asian Football Confederation tournaments. Bucayo is one of the goalies for the CNMI Boys U18 National Team and accumulated nearly 80 training hours, while the Canape siblings and Manabat spent more than 100 hours during the CNMI Boys U15 National Team’s training. The two national squads practiced six times a week in the summer, spending two hours per training session.

The four outstanding players, who were selected by head coach Michiteru Mita and his assistants Jershwin Angeles and Jonathan Takano, each received a pair of shoes from Northern Mariana Islands Football Association for their feat.

“We rewarded them for showing commitment to the national team. They came to training regularly and did a lot of hard work during the summer holiday in the last two months,” Mita said.

All four did not expect the recognition, adding that since they’ve been selected on the national squad, they believed it is their responsibility to attend every training session.

“Honestly, it was something I did not expect. The national team is my priority so attending every single practice is my responsibility as a player. The recognition may be simple, but it has also motivated me to come to every single practice to be the best I can be,” Bucayo said.

The Teen Ayuyus goalkeeper was part of the 20-player team that went to South Korea early this month for a five-day training camp where they challenged Japanese and Korean youth squads.

“There are many things I’ve learned in the training camp. One is you have to work hard and put everything you got, it doesn’t matter if it’s the first minute of the game or the 90th minute because every effort to win that ball counts. We have to continue working hard to improve and bring positive results from the tournament in Australia,” the Marianas High School student added.

Bucayo and company will compete in the AFC U19 Championship 2018 Qualifiers from Oct. 31 to Nov. 8 and will play against the host country, Hong Kong, and North Korea.

The Canape brothers and Manabat, on the other hand, will be participating in the AFC U16 Championship 2018 Qualifiers that will be held in Thailand from Sept. 16 to 24 and they put in the work instead of taking a summer vacation to develop the team’s chemistry and prove their worth on the squad.

“I am new to the team, so as much as possible I wanted to attend every training session because I want to keep up with my teammates and learn tactics and improve my skills faster,” the 14-year-old Ezekiel said.

Guiller has been with the squad longer than his younger brother, but he feels he still needs more time to jell well with his teammates so attending every practice is a must for him.

“I need to know every move of my teammates so I know how I can help them and work with them and to be able to do that, we have to practice a lot together. I would like to thank my parents and friends for making sure that I make it to practice on time,” Guiller said.