The Airmen – league champions the past two seasons – will be looking to collect their third major UFL trophy in two years in the 4 p.m. match against the Sparks, who have emerged as a league powerhouse with a string of remarkable performances in the tournament.
“We take a lot of pride in our team because we all have homegrown talents,” said Air Force coach Edzel Bracamonte, alluding to the fact that several squads have tapped foreigners to beef up their rosters.
“We have very good individual players but the key for us is to play as a team.”
Air Force has Chieffy Caligdong, Ian Araneta and Yanti Barsales that has benefitted by the fine work at midfield by 43-year-old former national player Jezurel Tonog and Randy Bela-ong in this tournament.
Air Force reached the finals with a hard-earned 2-0 win over last year’s champion Global, while Loyola showed tremendous resolve in rallying from three goals down to secure a 5-4 decision over Kaya Cignal.
Global and Kaya are playing for third place honors in the 2 p.m. game. Both matches will be aired live by AKTV on IBC13.
The Golden Ball – for the tournament Most Valuable Player – and the Golden Boot – for the top scorer – will be handed out after the championship match along with the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper and the Fair Play award.
Loyola striker Phil Younghusband said the Sparks cannot afford to start slow like it did against Kaya in the semifinals.
“We can’t afford to have a bad start again because it will be very difficult to pull it back against a strong Air Force team,” Younghusband said. “Obviously, we are well aware of the abilities of the three Air Force strikers so its important our defenders play well,” he said, referring to the trio of Caligdong, Barsales and Araneta.
Caligdong, one of the finest homegrown talents in the national team, is relishing the challenge against Loyola.
“It’s going to be a challenge going up against Loyola, but we will be ready,” the right winger said.
While the Airmen will be parading an intact lineup, the Sparks won’t have that same luxury with defensive midfielder Davide Cortina and skipper Patrick Ozaeta missing the finals due to suspension.
Cortina and Ozaeta picked up consecutive yellow cards in the quarterfinals and semifinals, ruling them out of action in the most important match of the club’s history.
Still, Loyola remains a formidable crew with the league’s leading scorer Phil Younghusband and older brother James spearheading the most explosive attacking side in the league.
Phil has a whopping total of 25 goals in six matches in the tournament. That tally includes a second-half hattrick against Kaya in the semifinals.
James’ contribution goes beyond scoring as he has served as the playmaker for the Sparks, who will welcome back starting goalkeeper Ref Cuaresma, who was suspended in the semifinals for a red card in the earlier round.
Stopping the Younghusbands and the other Loyola striker, Mark Hartmann, will be the challenge for Air Force centerbacks Martin Doctora and Joel Ballo-Allo.
source | InterAKTV | Mark Dimalanta
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