Stajcic, we trust

THEY say that in football, chances and opportunities rarely come. And when they do, one must grab that opportunity or chance with both hands and never let go. Just like life itself.

Our Philippine Women’s National Football Team or Filipinas did just that on July 25 in Wellington against the co-hosts, the New Zealand Football Ferns. Sarina Bolden scored the first ever goal for the country in the World Cup. The same goal was enough to power the Filipinas in posting the biggest upset so far in the tournament against the highly-favored hosts. But more importantly, that lone goal changed the fortunes of the team. Nobody really paid much attention prior to the biggest soccer event this year until that shocking win against New Zealand. From being just debutants, the Filipinas

Aranas and Chua are the third Filipino pair to rule the World Cup of Pool, joining the legendary duo of Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes and Francisco ‘Django’ Bustamante who ruled the inaugural competition in 2006 and replicated their feat in 2009, and the tandem of Dennis Orcollo and Lee Vann Corteza who bagged the title in 2013.

Aranas and Chua, both 31 years old, entered the tournament unseeded and became the first unseeded team to ever capture the championship title.

The duo’s remarkable journey started in the early rounds as they knocked out Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and David Alcaide of Spain, the 2022 defending champions, in a 7-5 match on June 27.

The Philippine pair again prevailed versus another bet of the host country, Jose Alberto Delgado and Jonas Souto Comino, with a convincing win of 7-2 on June 30.

They continued their winning streak in the quarterfinals, dominating the team from are now in serious contention to go past the group stage. A win against Norway in their final group A fixture will seal the Philippines’ passage through the last 16.

Who would have thought that the qualifiers in Group A would be decided in the last two matches? Switzerland will face New Zealand and the Filipinas will take on the Norwegians on the 30th for tickets to the next round and group honors. And who would have thought, in a million years, that the Philippines is very much in the fight to extend their campaign in New Zealand and probably even extend their stay up to Australia?

As it stands, Switzerland is still leading the group with one win and one draw or 4 points. New Zealand is second with 3 points, tied with the Philippines, but ahead in goal difference. Norway is fourth with one point after two games.

All teams are still in contention to advance. All need to win their last games to do so. A draw against Norway may be enough for the Filipinas to advance but a win is a must to avoid complications.

While this is easier said and done, Norway is no pushover. The Gressshoppene or The Grasshoppers are former world, European and Olympic champions. They won the World Cup in 1995 after losing in the finals four years earlier. Coached by Hege Riise and led by team captain Maren Mjelde, Norway is currently ranked the 12th best team in the FIFA pecking order. The Filipinas, on the other hand, are 46th, their highest ever. ranked 34 places higher than the Filipinas at No. 12.

Chinese Taipei composed of Ko Pin Yi and Ko Ping Chung in a thrilling 9-8 match. In the semifinals face-off, they stunned spectators as they outplayed Albin Ouschan and Mario He from Austria, twotime event titleholders.

If we talked about the rankings, then the Filipinas simply have no business tangling against one of the favorites to win the tournament. But do not tell that to the Filipinas, do not mention this to Olivia “McSaver” McDaniel, to Sarina “Golden” Bolden, to Captain Hali Long, to Sara Eggesvik or to all the players fighting for the three stars and the sun. But, most especially, do not tell this to Head Coach Alen Stajcic simply because he wants nothing to distract him –not the odds, not the chances and not the favorites that are expected to march to the second week of the tournament.

Time and time again. Stajcic has proven to be the best coach for the team. He was able to bridge the gap that would taken decades to do so, as eloquently summed up by my “panganay” Cedelf Tupas in a recent interview in our radio show 3PTS-Pambansang Tambayan ng Sports over DZME 1530, in just 18 months.

To say that he made a team out of players coming from diverse backgrounds and cultures is an understatement. He made a world-class team, to say the least.

His defensive strategy against New Zealand is a masterclass. And against the heavilyfavored Norway, with a seat in the knockout match at stake, we can expect Stajcic to come up with another brilliant strategy to win the game for the Philippines. Simply put, in Stajcic we trust!

“We have to restart again and think of the next game,” she said. “We have to take advantage with what we havez We want to see if we can create trouble and be competitive. To keep our heads down and keep fighting.”

While it appears to be a tall order, Eggesvik said that toppling Norway would not only mean advancing to the knockout round but also will have a huge impact for football development back home.

“Going to the knockout stage, that would mean a lot. From being a small football country, we can inspire a lot of girls and boys to start playing football and show that it is possible to do something great although you are from the Philippines,” she said.

Shakey’s held the first Collegiate PreSeason Championship last year featuring all 18 teams from the UAAP and NCAA before gathering the country’s 16 best high school teams for the Girls’ Volleyball Invitational League this summer.

This time, another bumper crop of talents seen as the country’s future will be on full display.

“True to our commitment to encourage more players, discover and showcase new talents, we’re gonna go nationwide,” said ACES president Dr. Ian Laurel. “Ito ang magandang way para makita natin kung ano pa ‘yung mga talents out there. This is the next one for us.”

Joining La Salle and St. Benilde are Adamson and University of Santo Tomas from the UAAP, Lyceum of the Philippines University and University of Perpetual Help System Dalta from the NCAA.

Completing the cast are Luzon bets La Salle-Dasma and Enderun Colleges, University of San Jose Recoletos and University of Southern Philippines from Cebu as well as Notre Dame of Dadiangas University and Jose Maria College Foundation of Davao City from Mindanao.

All teams, with coaches and officials from Shakey’s and ACES, will be introduced in the official press conference on Friday at 2 p.m. at the Shakey’s E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue in Quezon City.

Bacolod bet seeks

3 golds in 2023 Palaro

By Peter Atencio

MICO Villaran of Bacolod City will be among the many athletes expected to shine in the 2023 Palarong Pambansa, organized by the Department of Education.

Villaran will seek three gold medals in athletics when the games for elementary and secondary student-athletes make a comeback after three years of hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Student athletes from 17 regions are taking part, with Villaran competing for medals in the secondary boys 110-meter run, the 400-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash.

The 15-year-old Villaran dominated the athletics competition of the Philippine Sports Commission-Batang Pinoy National Championships in Ilocos Sur with his three-gold sweep.

Hopefully, Villaran will be able to

By the way, Eggesvik can also provide an insight on Norway. She is very familiar with how the Grasshoppers play. The Pinay footballer is midfielder for KIL/Hemme in 1. divisjon in the Norwegian league.

So how big was the Filipinas’ win over New Zealand the other day? It was enormous, so big that it practically ensured that women’s football will always be a major fixture in the country’s sports future.

The Designated Kit Man was able to join the watch party of the Philippines vs New Zealand recently organized by the Philippine Football Federation and Coca-Cola Philippines (sorry just can’t help it). And judging from the reaction of the crowd, especially the girls who came in, the sport is expected to be alive and well in the coming years. Aside from putting the world on notice, the Filipinas’ remarkable run in New Zealand is now inspiring millions of young Pinays to take up the sport and in the hope of someday representing the country in future World Cups.

One of these young women is Chrisia Espiritu, whom I met many years ago, playing soccer when she was just in her elementary days and told me that one of her goals is to play for the Malditas, the former moniker of the women’s national team. And after almost a decade or more, I met her during the watch party and it was so good to know that she never let go of the sport. She is now playing as defensive central midfielder, and even as a winger, for come to within range of the records made by Patrick Unso in the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles, and Jomar Udtohan in the 200-meter dash.

Seven gold medals will be at stake when advanced competitions in athletics are held on the opening events of the 2023 Palarong Pambansa at the Philsports oval in Pasig on July 31.

Set to start at 8 a.m. are the elementary competitions of the pole vault and high jump events, while the secondary hostilities in both meets will be held in the afternoon, starting at 3 p.m.

Technical officials have adjusted the schedule since the track stadium inside the Marikina Sports Complex would not be able to accommodate all the events in athletics and the para games.

The venue, according to their studies, might be too small to handle the field events, which include pole vault and high jump.

Ateneo De Manila University. Keep on dreaming and believing, Chrisia!

Speaking of the further impact of the Filipinas’ fine showing in the World Cup, Filipinos based in many parts of the globe are being united by their love for the country. Their rekindled pride of being Filipinos are just one of the many positive sides to the impressive run by the Philippines despite the odds and the enormity of what they need to accomplish. Even my brother-from-another-mother and fellow Bedan Joey Gabrillo based in Bakersfield, California, took the time to watch the match and even managed to give me a blow-by-blow account of the game against the Kiwis. Joey was also up and ranted his heart’s out on the controversial calls against the Filipinas in their opening match against Switzerland.

Asikasom ya lanang ditan, aro!

A peek at various social media platforms will show that many Filipinos based abroad share this support, rallying behind the team despite different time zones and circumstances.

Football can do this, you know. For the meantime…

Laban, Filipinas! Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!

For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_cabatbat@yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat