Betde, Fake Madrid enter finals

A Betde player controls the ball, while a Tinsel Toes defender stays close to him during their earlier game in the co-ed U12 division of Saipan Soccer School’s 2018 Youth Futsal Tournament at the TSL Sports Complex. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Fake Madrid and Betde eased their way to the finals after dominating their respective opponents at the start of the playoff round of Saipan Soccer School’s 2018 Youth Futsal Tournament last Tuesday night at the TSL Sports Complex.

Betde took the first finals seat in the co-ed U12 division following an 11-1 demolition of Kanoa Ali’i, while Fake Madrid marched into the title game in the co-ed U15 age group after clobbering Marianas United, 16-0.

Betde had too many options on offense and much-experienced players that it was hard for the unseasoned Kanoa Ali’i crew to keep up with their heavily favored foes. With Betde having the edge in their semis duel, it jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first half and never looked back to cruise to victory.

Mark Costales led Betde’s strong start, as he scored a pair of goals, while Kaitlyn Chavez, Wataru Kadokura, Anthony Austria, Mark Roque, and Julie Capayas added one each. Kadokura and Roque then completed a hat trick in the second half, as they each added two more goals to Betde’s total.

Kanoa Ali’i’ lone goal came from Tyler Omelau and with the loss, the team will just play in the consolation game tomorrow against the loser of the Tinsel Toes-CTSI Petmalu semis tiff. Tinsel Toes and CTSI Petmalu will dispute the last finals berth today at 5:30pm and the winner will challenge Betde in the one-game title showdown tomorrow at 6:30pm.

Meanwhile, in the co-ed U15 division’s first semis game, the unbeaten Fake Madrid was never threatened against Marianas United to move one win away from completely ruling its group.

Fake Madrid built a 7-0 advantage at halftime behind the hat trick of Oliver Fajardo, two goals from Paulyn Joyce, and one apiece from Jon Villagomez and Stella McCallion. Then in the second half, Fake Madrid played even better and this time Kaden Church starred for the undefeated squad after hitting four goals. Rintaro Miyawaki and Katrina Costales added two, while Joyce made one more.

In other results, top-ranked Bruv fended off ABCD FC in the second half for a 5-2 victory.

The Bruv-ABCD FC semis tiff in the co-ed U18 division was tied at the break with the former drawing its lone goal from John Michael Rojas and the latter from Dai Podziewski. Then after a so-so offense in the first half, Bruv got its rhythm in the second with Gillian Villagomez knocking in a pair and Guine Borja and Mareko Tekopua contributing one each. ABCD FC, on the other hand, still struggled with only Krizel Tuazon scoring in the second half.

With the win, Bruv earned the first finals berth and will face the winner of Suplex City-CTSI Petmalu semis game in the championship match tomorrow. The Kensington-backed Suplex City and CTSI Petmalu will battle for the last finals slot tonight at 7:30pm.