Smart Club football semifinals gets going Tuesday

MANILA—Phil and James Younghusband as well as several members of the national football team see action Tuesday and Wednesday as the semifinals of the first PFF-Smart Club championship kicks off at the University of Makati pitch.

Both set at 6 p.m., the first semifinal match will be played today with the second encounter scheduled Wednesday.

The first and second matches were to be decided late yesterday during a team managers’ meeting.

The Younghusbands stand at the forefront of Group A topnotcher Rizal-Smart San Beda FC’s bid for a finals berth when it tackles Group B runner-up Smart Stallions of Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo.

Group B topnotcher Pachanga-NCR FC takes on Group A runner-up Teknika FC in the other encounter.

The winning teams will collide in a two-match title series starting Saturday.

Football fans can watch both games for free, according to Smart Sports executive Epok Quimpo.

“Now our Big City fans will be able to witness top-flight football action, just as their provincial counterparts enjoyed the matches during the group eliminations,” Quimpo said.

Both games are expected to be action-packed, with the San Beda-Stallions showcasing attacking football.
The Pachanga-Teknika clash, meanwhile, could be a bruising one with both sides beefed up by skillful African players.
“We really wanted to face San Beda in the semifinals, and this promises to be an interesting match,” said Stallions coach Ernie Nierras, who also mentors the national women’s team.

San Beda coach Aris Caslib said Barotac Nuevo is a “dangerous foe.”

Aside from the Younghusband brothers, Caslib can also count on former Nationals Dan Fornea, the skipper, and Jeremias Jao, who was once Chieffy Caligdong’s reliever.

The Barotac Nuevo booters also boast of standouts Jovannie Simpron and Ruben Doctora plus South Koreans Lee Jeo-young and Nam Yeoh-no who can cause headaches for the San Beda defense.