GOVPH

Crowd boost of UNIT II finished off UNIT IV in a sweep-dominant fashion

 TIAONG QUEZON – With a powerful homecourt advantage, Unit II, Paiisa Futsal team, demolished the counterattacks of Unit IV with a sweep match, 4-0 securing their first win in Palarong Quezon 2023 held at Paiisa Covered Court, March 4.

UNIT II's Jovel Saez finished the game with 2 goals while Iva Minambilin and Christel Mendoza netted 1 goal each securing their first win in the tournament.

Manambilin kicked off the first goal of the game, 4 minutes after the play began, and it was quickly followed by another goal for UNIT II delivered by Christel Mendoza with less than 10 minutes remaining in the clock.

Following the 2-0 run in the first half, the UNIT II team managed to keep the momentum on their side in the second half of the game as Iva Minambilin kicked another goal for her team.

With 5 minutes remaining on the clock, Jovel Saez netted a brace for the UNIT II that helped the team completed the sweep and clinched the win against the UNIT IV.

"Binasa namin yung mga estilo ng kalaban, magaling sila sa mga short passes kami naman mga long passes," Richard Gutierrez, Paiisa Futsal team coach, revealed with excitement and confidence. “Baka nakatadhana din kaming manalo ngayon,” he added.

Winning a match with the former Palarong Pambansa futsal coach, Gutierrez shared that he was actually surprised on how Paiisa futsal team performed despite facing the powerhouse players of Unit IV for they are always considered as the team to beat. He also emphasized that he admires the team’s sportsmanship spearheaded by their coach, Kevin Mendoza.

On the other hand, Coach Mendoza pointed out some things where they fell short on. He said, " Homecourt, yung crowd syempre, pati experience kasi puro mga newbie yung marami sa akin ngayon."

The championship match will be held on March 5, Sunday, at Paiisa Covered Court, 8 am. Redemption: UNIT IV gets first win of the tournament against UNIT 1, at 9-3 After tasting the grain of defeat at the hands of UNIT II, UNIT IV made a whopping comeback crashing UNIT I in the third game of the futsal tournament, 9-3.

Shemeah Caperina hit the first goal of the match after struggling in the first few minutes of the game due to UNIT I's incredible defense, following a yellow card call for her team.

UNIT IV continued their dominance in the first half by scoring goals after goals, courtesy of their key players Shajarah Absalud, who scored multiple points, along with Jamy Serrano, Shemeah Caperina, Michaela Zaragosa and their tenacious goalkeeper Rhian Morales.

UNIT I tried to make micro comeback in the second half after they scored 3 points apiece as De Rama scored a brace while Flores secured 1 goal to keep up with the UNIT IV's run; however, the UNIT IV pulled off all the stops denying UNIT I’s counterattacks and finished the game with a score of 9-3.

Coach Kevin Mendoza stated that the key factor that helped the team’s redemption is their focus on the court. He commented, “Nanlulupa pa kami kanina.”

Coach Mendoza added that he is looking forward to collect more wins and to improve the team’s performance in the next games. He vowed to extend their best kicks and goals to achieve victory.