STA. CRUZ, Laguna -- Laguna ruled the boys’ U14 division of the Allianz National Youth Futsal Invitational after beating Dipolog, 3-1, in the finals at the Laguna Sports Complex on Sunday.
The home side banked on its defense to shut down the visitors and take the gold in the division.
David Pahud drew first blood for Laguna in the ninth minute, while Geremy Toledo doubled the lead just before halftime.
Vincent Saludo then put the icing on the cake for Laguna with a 27th minute attack.
Laguna came just close to a shutout of Dipolog until Mark Maghinay drilled in the consolation goal for Dipolog just before the end of the 30-minute clash.
"It's all on the hard work of the kids ever since we started the program," John Paul Rano told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) after the win.
Laguna's boys U14 championship averted a medal shutout for the host team as its U16 teams fell short in the battle for third place.
Laguna's girls U16 team fell to Watashi, 0-2, in a third-place match, while the host squad's boys U16 delegation suffered a painful loss to Davao via penalty.
Davao, which played the rest of regulation with just four men following a send-off to one of its players, prevailed on penalties, 2-1, following a 1-1 scoreline after the half-hour.
Meanwhile, Global Cebu trumped Jaro, 3-1, for the boys U16 title, while the other U16 title went to Calvary Pontevedra's women's side, which beat Cordillera, 2-1.
USPF, another team representing Cebu, took home the girls’ U14 title after blanking Tuloy sa Don Bosco, 2-0. (PNA)
