Puzakals lose to French team

MANILA, Philippines—A late surge of back-to-back goals failed to salvage the Bilibid Puzakals’ stab at redemption, losing to the local French Football Club, 2-4, Sunday morning.

It takes more than a play of words to measure up to the Azkals, the Philippine national team that has ignited interest in the beautiful sport, the Puzakals found out.

“We really need to build up stamina,” huffed team captain Archie Bueno. His advice to his teammates: “Stop smoking.”

Sunday’s competition was divided into three 30-minute matches, with the first and last games having teams from both the Bilibid and French sides all mixed up.

The second game featured the showdown between the much taller team composed of French expatriates and the newly formed squad from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) medium security facility serving sentences not exceeding 20 years.

The man

Keeper Redentor Mancao fought off scoring chances for the prisoners, preventing a rout with six saves. The French side named Mancao as the man of the match, giving him the team’s kit as a prize.

Team members conceded that the Puzakals have a long way to go.

“With this game, we want to pursue our passion for the sport together. We want this to go on,” Greg Ariston said. “We have to develop our stamina because skills are useless if we don’t have stamina.”

Ariston agrees with Bueno that football could showcase that inmates like him can shape up.

“Everyone makes mistakes, that’s why we’re here to do time for it,” Ariston said.

“The game is not just only to entertain our guests, but also for other inmates. We want to show every one that our time inside has been fruitful for us,” Vivencio Roxas echoed.

More exposure

As they came down to the NBP’s sunken garden, the faces of the Puzakal team members lit up in excitement seeing spectators mainly composed of French team’s kin wearing shirts supporting the inmates.

Bruno Vergnes, a member of the French Football Club, refereed the first two matches before donning their team jersey and playing the last game.

“[The Puzakals] need more exposure,” he said. “They need to keep on playing against other teams and learn more how to play together. Otherwise, they are doing great.”

Vergnes and the French team donated football uniforms and balls for the Puzakals in the closing ceremony, telling their Filipino counterparts to continue working on their game.

Nicolas Hacker downplayed the French’s height advantage, explaining that in football, height was not much of a factor. The Filipinos must master how to play as a unit, he said, and work on strategies.

“We got a lot of experience from this match. We should continue training,” said Iris Castañeda who scored the Puzakals’ first goal.

The game, he said, was a dream fulfilled since he had been egging Bueno to introduce football in the NBP.

Rehab program

Bueno said he hoped the event would spur more interest among corrections administrators as a vital part of the prison rehabilitation program.

Assistant Solicitor General Karl Miranda credited the games’ success to the private sector’s efforts “to do what they can in assisting” inmates to reintegrate back to society.

Rudy del Rosario, who organized the Philippine team to the Homeless World Cup, offered to put a football system for NBP inmates.

“We can put up a league within Bilibid,” he said. “Perhaps call it Bilibid Premier League?”

It certainly could work wonders.