Twin victories for Matansa; TanHoldings, Kanoa-2 prevail

TanHoldings players and their coaches proudly show the miniature championship trophies they received during the awards ceremony for the U8 division of the Asian Football Confederation Grassroots Football Day 2017 3 vs 3 Tournament held last Saturday at the Koblerville Elementary School Field. Also in the photo is NMIFA technical director Michiteru Mita, second row left. (Jon Perez)

Matansa Football Club clinched a pair of titles, while TanHoldings FC and Kanoa FC-2 split the two other division championships in the Asian Football Confederation Grassroots Football Day 2017 3 vs 3 Tournament held last Saturday at the Koblerville Elementary School Field.

Matansa won the co-ed U12B and U10 division crowns, while TanHoldings prevailed in the U8 category, and Kanoa-2 ruled the U12A competition.

Kanoa-2 moved a win away from topping the U12A age group after dominating National Elite Academy in the semifinals, 8-3. In the other semis pairing, TanHoldings-1 shut down MP United-1, 2-0, to join Kanoa-2 in the winner-take-all finale. In the title match, Kanoa-2 pulled off a 4-3 victory over TanHoldings-1, while MP United rounded out the Top 3 after downing NEA in the consolation match, 8-2.

In the U12B finals, Matansa eased past Southern United FC, 9-2, while MP United had another third-place finish after edging Kanoa, 5-4. Matansa marched into the finals after routing Kanoa in the first second game, 7-0, while Southern United labored for a 7-6 triumph in the other Final Four tiff to arrange a finals duel against the eventual champion.

Matansa made it two in a row when it blanked TanHoldings in the U10 title showdown, 5-0, while MP United was ranked third anew following a 2-0 victory over Paire. Matansa and TanHoldings arranged their championship match after posting contrasting wins in the semifinals. TanHoldings slipped past Paire, 3-2, while Matansa walloped MP United, 4-0.

In the U8 division, both the finals and the consolation games were decided by only a point. TanHoldings nosed out Matansa-1 in the title game, 4-3, while Kanoa outlasted Southern United, 3-2, in the third place match. TanHoldings barged into the finals after blanking Kanoa in their semis pairing, 2-0, while Matansa-1 topped Southern United in the other Final Four tiff, 3-1.

Games in the 3 vs 3 tournament were played for 20 minutes and teams in each age group competed in round-robin elimination. The Top 4 teams per division then advanced to the playoffs and the last two squads left standings battled for the championship.

Northern Mariana Islands Football Association hosted the weekend competition to join the AFC family in celebrating the AFC Grassroots Football Day (May 15). The CNMI was one of the record 38 AFC-member nations that held the grassroots tournament, which AFC introduced in 2013 to instill positive values such as teamwork, mutual respect and fair play among the youths and stimulate social development in communities across the continent.