MindanaoToday.com | Former Rosevale booter leads CdO kids in UAAP
By: Jack Biantan
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Former Rosevale School defender Andy Lugod is leading three other former Cagayan de Oro City in the ongoing UAAP 86th Season Boys High School competition at the UP field in Quezon City.
Lugod now plays for De La Salle Zobel, and his former school mates at Rosevale School Xavi Tan plays for Ateneo de Manila, and Vinno Solidum for University of Sto. Thomas.
Former Pagatpat National High School striker Francis Iverson Sambaan is now playing for Far Eastern University. Sambaan and Lugod were teammates for the Region X elementary team in the Vigan Palaro in 2018 and in Davao City Palaro in 2019.
The presence of these boys in the country’s prime school based league, the UAAP, only proved that football development is indeed moving fast in this side of the football community in this basketball crazy nation.
Andy Lugod, Xavi Tan and Vinno Solidum are all products of the Rosevale School football program. Lugod, who has now carved his way into the starting eleven of La Salle Zobel, started his love affair with the beautiful game at Kindergarten.
Through the encouragement of his football loving dad Ian, Andy made football as his favorite sport at a very young age of eight. His hard work then started to bear fruit when he became a regular at the Rosevale elementary varsity team in the 4th Grade at age 10.
He further moved up to the football ladder when he became a member of the Region X team that competed in the Vegan Palaro in 2018 and then in the Davao Palaro in 2019. The COVID pandemic did not interrupt his love for football as he continued training personally even tough football was banned by the local government including all other sports.
The football pitch of the Rosevale School behind their house also helped in his football education, that is why when the ban was lifted, Andy was among the few football playing kids who were fit.
After finishing his secondary school with Rosevale, he tried out for De La Salle Zobel and immediately impressed the coaches. He worked hard and even cancelled his Christmas Holidays last year to train so that he could be selected to play in the UAAP for his new school.
Andy did not play in their first match, a 1-4 loss to UST. Then he started against Ateneo where they won 3-0. He also played for 25 minutes in a 2-3 loss in first round against FEU. He then played 38 minutes in their 1-0 win over FEU in the second round.
Xavi Tan is a talented striker with Rosevale School during his elementary days. He however did not finish his elementary education with the school as he moved with his parents to Davao when his dad transferred work. His football education however continued in Davao with Ateneo de Davao.
Few years later, his family moved to Manila and then he enrolled with Ateneo de Manila University where his talent was spotted. He made it to the AdMU varsity team and now plays for the school in the UAAP.
Vinno Solidum also started playing for Rosevale during his early elementary days. His father Herzl was once one of the football coaches of the school. He transferred to Valencia City, Bukidnon where he continued his football education under the well known coach Greg Ramos.
He however went to Manila during his high school and enrolled with University of Sto. Thomas where he immediately was spotted and earned his varsity role.
Francis Iverson Sambaan is a product of coach Percy Guarin and Principal Jennifer Espina’s football program at the Pagatpat National High School. Pagatpat is one of the few public schools in Cagayan de Oro City who had a football program.
His talent has been recognized at an early age and he was named as member of the Region X Palaro team in Vigan in 2018 and in Davao City in 2019.
Sambaan however has really developed his football talents under the Higala Football Club where he has been a regular member since his elementary days. Far Eastern University, the perennial champion in the UAAP, signed him after watching him tryout online during the COVID Pandemic.
Although there was no football during the pandemic, FEU gambled on him and gave him a scholarship so that he could study online. Once the pandemic was over, he flew to Manila to continue his high school and football education with the school. This year, he breezed past the tough selection for the FEU UAAP varsity team. He is now also a starter for the school in the ongoing UAAP wars.
The CMORFA U19 qualifying tournament just ended last Sunday and these four top players could be great additions to the team if their school permits them to play for the CMORFA team in the Visayas-Mindanao qualifying tournament in April.
Bringing their experiences from the UAAP will be a great help for the CMORFA team. However, their inclusion will also be a big challenge to the coaching staff as they will have limited training time with the local players. (jackbiantantambok@gmail.com)
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