Mindanaotoday.com | Tuloy DB leads way in grassroots dev’t
By: Jack Biantan
Cagayan de Oro City — Tuloy FC made a splash in the opening day of the Copa Paulino Alcantara with a 3-2 upset win over the the come backing Philippine Army at the Rizal Memorial stadium over the weekend.
James Demate scored the winning goal in the 89th minute to lead a very young Tuloy FC squad’s final push to earn an impressive win in the Bosconian’s debut in this annual cup competition organized by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).
John Levi Sajor scored an early goal for the Bostonians in the 17th but Jimuel Ariola answered with two goals in the 23rd and 27th minutes to give the Armymen a 2-1, halftime lead. Sajor then equalized in the 48th minute before Demate scored the winning goal to secure the Bosconian’s first win.
“We struggled to control the game and a lot still to improve. It was a tough game as our opening for Copa. Prepare for the next one. Well done all,’’ tweeted Tuloy’s Japanese coach Takemoto Suzuki after the match.
Despite of downplaying their impressive win against the Army, coach Takemoto Suzuki’s boys were very confident on the pitch and very entertaining to watch. It was a breath of fresh air watching the Tuloy players play. They have excellent ball control and exceptional dribbling skills and finishing.
Game winning scorer James Demate credits the support of Tuloy sa Don Bosco founder Fr. Rocky Evangelista for all he has done for them. “This is not possible without Fr. Rocky and our sponsors,’’ said Demate in a Facebook interview.
Joel Villarino, a former coach of Tuloy said that the seeds they have sowed before are starting to bear fruits. He said that they started training the current players of Tuloy when they were still kids. “We insisted on their technical skills that is why the players right now are very skillful,” he said.
ORIGIN
Tuloy indeed has gone a long way since it started in the 1990’s.
In 1996 when the day after Salazar Institute of Technology-Don Bosco Boys Home Cebu won the National Coke Go-For-Goal Championship at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, we visited Tuloy sa Don Bosco at Don Bosco Makati.
I was the team manager of the team. The core was composed of the boys of the Cebu champion Salazar Institute of Technology-Don Bosco Boys Home in Banilad Cebu City, and was beefed up of players from Abellana National School and Don Bosco Technology Center.
Our spiritual adviser Fr. Jun Paradiang brought us to DB Makati to meet Fr. Rocky Evangelista SDB, the founder of Tuloy sa Don Bosco. During that time in 1996, Fr. Rocky just registered Tuloy Foundation Inc. as a non-stock-non profit corporation with the SEC.
Fr. Rocky actually started his project for street children around Makati in 1993 after a meeting with the leaders of the Salesians of Don Bosco religious order. He started in a small room in the St. John Bosco Parish compound in Makati City. He then opened a small center and ran it with a group of 10 lay volunteers.
During that visit at the Tuloy Sa Don Bosco, we had a long talk with Fr. Rocky with our coach Glen Ramos. We told them the stories of our players who were also mostly came from the streets Cebu City. Fr. Rocky was mesmerized of the stories of our players particularly those who came from Don Bosco Boys Home, the home of poor and abandoned boys of Cebu City which was used to be located in in Banilad, Cebu City but has now moved to Liloan, Cebu Province.
That might have been the moment that Fr. Rocky decided to make football as part of his project once he established in 2001 the now very modern 4.5 hectares Tuloy Sa Don Bosco Center in Alabang Muntinlupa..
Fast forward today, Tuloy sa Don Bosco also has now a football club, the Tuloy FC. The club is now making waves in the Philippine Women’s Football League and the Copa Paulino Alcantara.
The center has even first class turf football pitch and futsal facilities aside from their regular high and elementary school plus the vocational school. It has also complete living facilities like dormitories, study area, dining room, and kitchen for its residential program.
Success in Tuloy’s football program has also spread in among their girls teams. The center has also produced many female footballers for the national team. The Tuloy girls are even dominating the ongoing Philippine Women’s Football League.
Tuloy’s FC success on the pitch should not be ignored. If you observe during the Copa match, Tuloy FC still do not have any shirt sponsors. It is time for someone help the club so that ‘tuloy ang football’ sa Tuloy FC. (jackbiantantambok@gmail.com)
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