USJ-R ends 4-year title drought

The University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R) ended its four-year title drought in the collegiate football competition of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. with a 1-0 edging of defending champions University of San Carlos (USC) yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Striker Junjun Pintuan found the back of the net on a long-range goal in the first minute of the 10-minute extension to give USJ-R the title.

Father Glynn Ortiga, USJ-R athletic director, said they very fulfilled for capturing the title, which was theirs for seven straight years from 2000 to 2007.

“The boys have been working hard and this season. We really aimed for the title,” Ortiga said. “First, we focused on advancing to the top four then we worked on getting the title.”

The championship match attracted a sizable crowd never before seen in a Cesafi football competition.

Match was halted for more than 10 minutes with just 15 minutes into the first half after USC’s Pomposo Atillo dislocated his left elbow and had to wait for a stretcher so he could be taken off the field.

Both teams waxed hot from the get-go with USC employing a full attack and forcing USJ-R to play tough defense.

The Warriors were not able to capitalize on the defense lapses committed by the Jaguars, especially near their own goal.

After 45 minutes of near misses and foiled attempts by both teams, the first half ended scoreless.

In the second half, the Warriors came on roaring to score but was not able to sustain their momentum.

USJ-R then took its  turn to go an attack mode.

However, the Jaguars’ numerous attempts were foiled by USC’s goalkeeper Leonard Tan, who kept up with USJ-R’s relentless attack while his teammates were showing signs of fatigue.

Meanwhile, the University of Cebu (UC) captured third place after a 2-0 blanking of the University of the Visayas (UV).

UC’s first goal was scored by Raymund Torres via a penalty kick in the 44th minute while its second goal was scored by Christian Vasquez in the 55th minute.