THE PHILIPPINE Punishers, drawing strength from their lockdown defense, dumped the Saipan Sharks, 13-6, in the international American Football match before a sizeable crowd at Philsports field in Pasig recently.
Punishers quarterback Mike Hoes threw a touchdown pass to GJ Dy in the first half, before Jai Merchant intercepted and ran 35 yards for a touchdown in the second half for the winning point.
“These guys came to play ball and they gave us one hell of a game,” said Punishers coach Tim Beasley, who also praised his team for rising to the challenge.
Hoping to give the sport a push in popularity in the country, the Punishers actually won four of their five matches of their exhibition series, which saw them play in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Hoes found Dy down the sideline for a 20-yard touchdown, but the Punishers couldn’t cash in on the extra point as their effort went wide left of the goal post.
The Sharks tied the game in the second half when running back Jeff Boyer rushed to the endzone following terrific work from Josh Lutrell, who completed five of six passes in a 70-yard drive.
But Lutrell turned out to be the culprit in the second half when Merchant, who was later named Most Valuable Player of the match, picked up his pass and returned it for a touchdown.