MindanaoToday.com | Bulua Lady Strikers defender gets Inspire Raya scholarship
By: Jack Biantan
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Fifteen year old Bulua National High School defender Pauleen Louis Labita is realizing her dream of playing professional football someday after accepting a scholarship offer from the Henry V. Moran Foundation to play for a prestigious school in Luzon.
Inspire Raya, the SM backed sports school for Senior High students in Calamba, Laguna has offered an all expense paid scholarship and free board and lodging for the young footballer from Zone 6, Bulua, Cagayan De Oro City.
The only daughter of Glen and Cherry Labita has been signed to play for Inspire Raya, a sister school of the SM owned National University, through the Henry V. Moran Foundation of the country’s Futsal godfather Danny Moran.
She is the second Lady Striker who have been signed by Inspire
Raya after forward Stephanie Martinez also got signed up last year.
Martinez is currently on vacation here in Cagayan de Oro City. She will bring Labita to Calamba, Laguna on Aug. 10 just in time for the start of the new school year.
“I want to be a professional footballer someday and inspire young people to live good lives and avoid the vices,” she said.
She also thanked the football teaching couple, Jun and Heinjie Actub for teaching her to play football and futsal as young as eight years old.
The Actub couple are the reason why Bulua National High School is a powerhouse in girls futsal and girls football in Cagayan De Oro City.
Jun is a teacher and a C Licensed football coach at Bulua National High School while his wife Heinjie teaches at the neighboring Bulua Elementary School.
Labita was recruited by National Futsal coach Victor Hermans. The veteran coach is a Dutch Futsal expert and supervises the Futsal program of Inspire Raya.
Pauleen Labita will be a great addition to the Inspire Raya Futsal team for the coming Futsal season up in Metro Manila.
Inspire Raya is one of the active member of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) HIGH 5 Women’s Futsal League.
The HIGH 5 Women’s Futsal League is organized by the PFF through the Henry V. Moran Foundation and Danny Moran.
They have eight active futsal clubs from diverse backgrounds. Aside from Inspire Raya, other members are Tuloy sa Don Bosco FC, Gawad Malinga FC, Tondo FC, Payatas FC, Azzurri SC, Dr. J Autoclave FC, Pangasinan United FC, and Makati FC.
Labita is the pillar of the defense of the Bulua National School team which represented Region X in the Palarong Pambansa last June in Cebu City.
Region X made history in that annual competition earning the first Futsal medal for the region since the sport was introduced in the Palaro in 2014. They won the bronze medal after beating host Central Visayas in the battle for third. (jackbiantan@yahoo.com)
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