Tan Holdings triumphs in U8, U10 divisions

Tan Holdings bagged two division crowns in the 2015 NMIFA 3v3 Grassroots Football Day Tournament held last Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.

Tan Holdings Dark gave the club its first championship in the weekend tournament after demolishing MP United Blue 1 on Field 2, 6-0. Anthony John Bergancia starred in Tan Holdings Dark’s title win, scoring five goals, while Angelo Pulido nailed the other goal for the winning squad.

Joining Bergancia and Pulido on the champion team are Francisco Sablan, Neriah Nicole Lumbad, Rizza Relucio, and Mark Janier Chavez. Albert Bergancia coached Tan Holdings Dark.

The division champion marched into the finals after a similar 6-0 semis win over Shirley’s Football Club. Earlier in the elimination, Tan Holdings Dark topped the seven-team field with its immaculate 4-0-0 win-draw-loss record and 17 goals scored to clinch the No. 1 seeding and set up a semis duel against the fourth-ranked Shirley’s FC. Shirley’s FC notched a 2-0-2 slate to catch the last bus to the playoff round.

Kanoa Mighty Orange had a similar 2-0-2 record, but won the tiebreak against Shirley’s FC and took the No. 3 seeding to arrange a Final Four showdown with MPU 1. MPU 1, which finished the elimination with a 3-0-1 mark, went on to edge Kanoa Mighty Orange in the semis, 4-2, and barged into the finals against the eventual division champion Tan Holdings Dark.

Tan Holdings made it two in a row against MP United, as THFC Nature outclassed MPU 1 in the U8 finale on Field 1, 3-1. Andrei Kaitlyn Chavez canned a pair of goals for THFC Nature, while Mark Ryan Costales contributed one to lift their team to the division championship. Ian Song registered the lone goal for MPU 1.

THFC Nature, which also has Brandon John, Kohjiro Goto, David Khadka, Julie Anne Chavez, Cavin Chon, and Nash Santos as members, qualified to the finals after outlasting Paire FC in overtime in the semifinals, 2-1. In the other Final Four pairing, MPU 1 also labored to make it to the finals, prevailing against Matansa in penalty shootout, 1-0. Regulation ended at 1-1.

MPU 1 and THFC Nature’s semis victories were upsets as they recorded them against much higher seeded foes. THFC Nature was ranked fourth in the playoffs after compiling a 1-1-2 record, while MPU 1 finished third in the six-team field with 1-2-1 mark. Paire ruled the elimination with its 3-1-0 card, while Matansa came in at second after earning a 1-3-0 slate.

Meanwhile, THFC Nature and Tan Holdings Dark players and coaches received miniature trophies, while the runners-up got medals. Northern Marianas Islands Football Association general secretary Ross Zapanta and NMIFA vice president and youth committee league official Vickie Izuka led the awards presentation.