JOHN Zhel Sala etched his place in UP sports history as he towed the University of the Philippines Cebu to its first ever win in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. football competition on Oct. 13, 2024.
Sala struck in the 16th minute for UP’s lone goal against a game University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) but it was enough for UP to earn its first three points since joining the league last year.
In 2023, UP lost seven matches and drew one to finish with a single point in its debut. However, this year, despite a 2-0 loss to the University of San Carlos (USC) in its first game, the writing was on the wall as only a last minute goal allowed the six-time defending champion to nail the win.
Meanwhile, USC improved to 2-0 with a 2-1 win over the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) thanks to two first half goals by John Cyril Sinoy in the 35th and 41st minutes. Dylan kane dela Fuente got USJ-R back in the fight in the 57th minute but the eight-time champion just couldn’t find the equalizer as it lost its second straight match.
USC now leads the table with six points on two wins and is the lone team which can win the title outright via sweep, while USPF and UP share the second spot on three points on a win and a loss. USJ-R is last with two straight losses.
In the high school division, rivals Don Bosco Technological Center and Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu fought to a 1-1 draw to share the no. 1 spot on four points.
Rat Agustine Abuzo gave the defending champion DBTC the lead three minutes after the exchange but it didn’t last long as Adam Clinton Lee scored the equalizer six minutes later.
In the second game, USJ-R blanked USC 3-0 with Luis Vincent Fernandez (26), Cyrus Primar Ventura (62), and Luis Vincent Fernandez (72) finding their targets in USJ-R’s first win in two games.
Meanwhile, the football tournament will take a two-week break and will resume on Oct 27 with DBTC facing USJ-R and USC-BED taking on SHS-Ateneo in the high school division and USC taking on USPF and UP Cebu facing USJ-R in the collegiate division.