Mentors, La Salle Arrange Final Showdown in March

La Salle FC's Gregorio Antioquia trips over Nicolo Pena of ACF Real Molinillo.

Lipa City. 25 February. – Mentors FC and La Salle FC, both of whom emerged from Group A of the group stage to contest the Lipa Football League Season 2 semi-finals last Sunday at the Aboitiz Pitch of The Outlets at Lipa, both emerged victorious over separate opponents to arrange a championship showdown on the last Sunday of March at the same venue.

In the first match, Mentors FC of Fernando Air Base, the league’s most experienced team with some of its player having turned out for different clubs in the semi-professional United Football League, turned on the style in a 7-3 whitewash of Group B runners-up Green Stallions FC.

The Green Stallions, the college team of De la Salle Lipa, entered the match as the top goalscoring team of the group stage, having scored a league record of 27 goals whilst conceding only 4 for a remarkable goal difference of +23 after just four matches.

However, they found the Mentors a totally different beast. While they managed to put three past the Mentors’ Mark Anthony Mendome, their own John Vincent Laraya was by far the busier of the two goalkeepers with seven goals conceded.

The Mentors, who before the last round of group matches faced an outside chance of missing the semis, turned on the style early with their mesmerizing passing patterns and deadly finishing. Harold Bayona broke the ice early in the match for the Air Force team, who scored further goals through Mark Ferrer (twice), Rex Justado, Mark Anthony Fernandez and Rowel de la Vega. The hapless Jericho Bariata put through his own goal to pad the Mentors’ lead.

For the Green Stallions, Neil Paul Bernardo and Jake Martinez, with a brace, were the goalscorers. The De la Salle Lipa-based team could have made the match more interesting had its top goalscorer Gerard Pena displayed better composure following two footraces with the older and slower Mentors defense.

Green Stallions' top goalscorer Gerard Pena (left) failed to hit the net against Mentors FC.

In the other semi-final, La Salle FC earned the right to face the Mentors after a tense 3-2 victory over ACF Real Molinillo de Lipa. The youngsters, De la Salle Lipa’s high school team, scored first early in the first half after Molinillo goalkeeper Kenneth Paul Patajo failed to keep out a shot from Richard Singson off a cut back from the right flank by Seth Tuble.

Molinillo hit back not long after and took the lead after two goals by the league’s top goalscorer Tyron Regalado. In the second half, La Salle equalized through Gregorio Antioquia after Molinillo defender Nestor Natanauan Jr. was dispossessed at the right flank while attempting to clear.

The match was turned on its head after Real Molinillo’s own youngster Mark Roy Gulang lashed out at an opponent after being tackled from behind, earning a straight red card. The sending off left the tiring Molinillo with a mountain to climb, especially after Samuel Panghulan scored La Salle’s winning goal.

Real Molinillo's Mark Roy Gulang (30) received a straight red card after lashing out at an opponent.

The young La Salle team lived on the edge in the final 10 minutes as Molinillo pushed forward for an equalizer. Regalado broke free on the right flank but opted to shoot from a narrow angle despite two teammates waiting in the middle for a cut back. Kevin Macasaet also flashed a low and hard drive across goal and teammate Joseph Victor Medina was inches away from making contact and sending the ball past Rommel Torralba in the La Salle goal.

In the end, the youngster managed to hold on to their lead to arrange a mouthwatering rematch with the Mentors, to whom they narrowly lost 4-5 in Round 4 of the group stage. The final is to be played on 31 March at the Aboitiz Pitch of The Outlets at Lipa.