FutBulakenyos clinches 1st CLFL title with game to go

Subic Bay --- The Bulacan side clinched the championship of the inaugural season of the Central Luzon Football League (CLFL) after the Futbulakenyos FC held on to a 3-2 scoreline against the Lighthouse Amihan FC (LAFC) at the Remy Field last July 1st.

Despite the loss, the Olongapo/Subic Bay side cemented their 2nd place finish in the league with an away win against Tarlac FC, 4-2, at the Tarlac Recreational Center yesterday (July .7

Dubbed as the championship match, the Batang 'Gapo scored first to the cheer of some 1,200 supporters. Futbulakenyos equalized just before half time, silencing the boisterous home crowd.

After a string of errors from the LAFC in the second half, the Bulacan side added two more goals early to push the scoreline to 3-1. But the home team managed to punch through the central defenders and slot home a goal with 25 minutes left in the game.

"We really had a hard time in beating the Amihan FC for the 2nd time. Their group attack improved a lot, breaking our defenders wall," Emman Robles, Futbulakenyos coach said in a statement.

Robles said that they wanted to win the game to seal the championship for the people of Bulacan.

Only the Lighthouse Amihan had a chance to steal the Sinukuan from Bulacan, but the home loss, after an impressive 18 goals in the last two games, doomed their chances.

"Against the football giants of Central Luzon, our football developmental team performed magnificently. We offer the silver finish to all our supporters---to every person who considers himself or herself as a Batang 'Gapo," LAFC coach John Bayarong said.

Bayarong added that the championship was decided by the breaks of the game "and it went their (Futbulakenyos) way. Our most sincere congratulations to the maiden champions of CLFL."

Meanwhile, Pampanga FC unleashed a barrage of 3 goals in the second half of their home against Tarlac FC last, chalking up a point in a 3-3 home draw recently.

"It was a terrific day for PFC considering the odds of getting goals and even finished the game with a tie," coach Larry Simon said after the game.

The match had to be moved to Don Bosco-Mabalacat, after heavy rains made the Bren Guiao Sport Complex unplayable.

"We experimented with positions being confident with the lead and we paid for it dearly. We were not the better team in the field," Tarlac FC coach Christian de Ocampo noted.

The CLFL is set to end its maiden season at the Remy Field in Subic Bay on July 14th with a double header featuring Futbulakenyos Fc versus Pampanga FC at 2pm. The other game, Ligthouse Amihan FC against Tarlac FC will kick off at 4:30PM.

"After a short break, the teams will fight it out in the Central Luzon Futsal League with all teams travelling to a host team futsal court every match day. We hope we get the same support from our home crowds," Christian de Ocampo, league commissioner announced.

Subic Bay gaining ground in sports tourism

By Allen M. Villa

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, July 3 (PIA) -- The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) expressed optimism for the future of sports tourism in this free port after it successfully hosted another international

triathlon last week.

SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto V. Garcia said the first Century Tuna 5i50 Triathlon, which drew more than 600 foreign and Filipino tri-athletes, will carry the torch for Subic in the international sporting circuit for the next three years.

“We are surely gaining ground as far as sports tourism is concerned,” Garcia said after the inaugural run.

“We’re very proud to have hosted this event and we have a lot of foreign and local athletes, all of whom were very happy about the unique and challenging course,” he added.

The Century Tuna 5i50 Triathlon was the first 5i50 distance event authorized by the World Triathlon Corp. or WTC in Southeast Asia. It was composed of a 1.5-km swim, a 40-km bike, and a 10-km run that took

participants along the most scenic routes in this free port.

Organizer Alaska Milk Corp. president and CEO Fred Uytengsu said the Olympic-distance triathlon race will be held here annually until 2014 and will be organized by Sunrise Events, Inc., the company behind

Ironman 70.3 Philippines.

Garcia said the SBMA has signed a contract with Sunrise Events, Inc. for the staging of the event until 2014. “So we look forward to a bigger field next year. As far as our sports tourism program is concerned, we will continue to promote triathlons, marathons, biking events and all other sports events which have chosen Subic Bay as their venue,” he added.

Australian triathlon veteran David Dellow emerged as the first 5i50 Subic Bay champion on last Sunday’s race, after finishing with a time of two hours, three minutes and two seconds. Dellow was also the

champion in Ironman Cairns 2012 held on June 3. He placed fifth at the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship 2012 in Melbourne last March 24.

Following close behind Dellow was three-time Olympic Triathlon qualifier Csaba Kuttor of Hungary, with total time of two hours, three minutes and 27 seconds. Kuttor finished eighth place in the 2012 5i50

in Klagenfurt, Austria.

In third place was Australian Xterra elite Ben Allen with two hours, four minutes and 43 seconds, while Canadian Mathieu O’Halloran finished fourth with two hours, five minutes and 23 seconds. Allen won

first place in the 2012 Xterra Asian Triple Crown and first place at the 2012 Xterra Philippines, while O’ Halloran finished first place in the Pico De Loro Triathlon 2012, first place in the Zambales Beach

Games Triathlon in 2011 and first place at the Bantayan Beach Games Triathlon.

Another Australian, Belinda Granger, ruled the women’s category, clocking two hours, 22 minutes and 35 seconds.

Meanwhile, the relay category was led by the Wetshop Tri Team, which recorded an aggregate time of two hours, 16 minutes and 27 seconds.

Team Wetshop Para-Tri clocked two hours, 31 minutes and 30 seconds for a second finish, while Meralco Lightspeed Team 1 finished third with two hours, 32 minutes and 35 seconds.

A total of 619 participants, including 45 relay teams of three members each, joined the race which totaled to a 51.50-kilometer triathlon distance.

The Subic Bay sports event also drew international professional triathletes like Canadian Ali Fitch, British Jacki Slack, and Justin Granger. Filipino celebrities attended the event like senator Pia Cayetano, television hosts Kim Atienza and Drew Arellano, actor Matteo Guidicelli and news anchor Raffy Tima.

Organizer Alaska Milk Corp. president and CEO Fred Uytengsu said the Olympic-distance triathlon race will be held here annually until 2014 and will be organized by Sunrise Events, Inc., the company behind

Ironman 70.3 Philippines. (CLJD/AMV-PIA3)