MindanaoToday.com | Lumbia Raptors Girls start to reach the sky
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Lumbia Raptors Football Club Girls are growing not only in numbers but also in reputation.
Their respectability on the pitch have expanded exponentially as they won three titles in a row starting last December including two impressive title winning victories this year.
The Lady Raptors, following their Motto ‘Aim For The Sky’ , have soared high starting December of last year when they captured the U13 Girls crown in the Pinay In Action (PIA) Football 4th Bulua Futsal Fiesta Cup of Senator Pia Cayetano in baranggay Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City last Dec. 9-10.
Now, under their dynamic and young coach Mikylla Andrea Albarico, the Lady Raptors also finished 1st Runner Up in the Girls U15 category at the Bulua tournament.
The Lumbia Girls then kept their winning streak when they also won the title in the U15 Girls category in the 5th Abba’s Cup last Jan. 20 at the Abba’s Orchard Montessori School and finished third in the Girls 17 category.
The girls then highlighted their winning streak in the month of January when they captured the Girls 18 title in the FFF Girl Power Futsal Cup also at the Bulua National School gym last Jan. 28. They also finished second in the Girls 14 category.
The Lumbia Raptors Girls team is made up of 24 girls who are part of the Lumbia Raptors Football Club based at sitio the Red Island in Lumbia, Cagayan de Oro City. Their ages are from 12-17. The LRFC also has Men’s Open, Boys 18 and Boys 14 teams. They are however not as successful as the Girls team.
Most of members of the LRFC Girls team started when they were kids learning to play the beautiful game around the Raptors pitch, the Hangar, near sitio Red Island.
They were formally trained by the LRFC coaches and included in the club in 2019. However, the Covid Pandemic halted the program. When the pandemic ended in 2022, the program resumed but only a handful remained and continued their training.
These handful of girls are now the core players that have made the LRFC Girls team a success. They have actually started getting noticed only last year when they finished second to powerhouse Bulua National High School in the Cagayan de Oro Division meet.
The core players came from Lumbia Elementary School. They include the top forwards Kate Albarico, Precious Exequil, Mary Rose Pagalan, midfielders Althea Palma, Alessandra Rizardo, defenders Jamz Esteban, Mary Love Lacar, Anajean Bradley, and goalkeepers Xenah Delima, and Sarah Caballero and newcomers Chelsea Selada and Devine Parojinog.
These 12 core players will also represent the Lumbia National High School Futsal team in the CdO Division meet at the end of this month. Presently there are 24 Girls registered with the Lumbia Raptors FC Girls team. Some of them are new while others are still very young.
The secret of their success according to young coach Albarico is hard work. The girls practice hard every free time they have. Albarico also said that the girls are all fearless since most of them come from poor families around Lumbia.
Their success has also attracted various local and foreign sponsors which have provided the girls jerseys, socks, futsal and football shoes and even money for their transportation and food during tournaments.
Heading the sponsors are Julia Benitez of Friends of Female Footballers, Eric Benitez of Monocle Group, Carlito Simon Sr. of United Kingdom, Ethel and Jong-jong Gacasan of Austin, Texas. Benitez and Simon have even come to CdO to personally watch the girls play.
The future is bright for the Lumbia Raptors FC Girls. With competitions abound the whole year, there is no stopping for the girls who has absorbed their motto ‘Aim For The Sky’ whole heartedly. (jackbiantantambok@gmail.com)
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