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| Team Taguig successfully defended its home field. |
TAGUIG—Bonifacio Global City (BGC) is the first-ever AIA Vitality Women’s Kampeon Cup champions following their 5-0 thrashing of Muntinlupa last Sunday evening at the McKinley Hill Stadium.
In this national championship for women’s seven-a-side football, the tournament’s leading scorer Shelah Mae Cadag scored a brace with strikes also coming from BGC teammates Maegan Alforque, Dea Dolino, and Joyce Semacio in a show of complete dominance from the opening whistle to the end.
Charisa Lemoran and Semacio put the clamps on Muntinlupa’s Camille Rodriguez from the get-go then let their high-powered offense put the latter squad on the back heel.
BGC scored three goals in a devastating two minutes that pretty much decided the game.
In the fourth minute, Semacio raced down the right flank and drew four defenders. Displaying that deft touch, the do-it-all player sent a cross that blew past the remaining Muntinlupa players and found an unmarked Cadag who blasted the ball past Hazel Arce for the first goal.
A minute later, BGC defender Dai Dolina cleared the ball from deep inside their territory with a long ball. Looking to merely find either Cadag or even Maegan Alforque, the ball instead went straight toward the goal. The ball looked like it was going to sail wide right but dipped inside the right top corner for an unlikely goal.
It was such a stunning goal, that even Dolino could not believe it. Six minutes into the game, Muntinlupa already found themselves in a hole.
One they got buried deeper when Alforque was afforded some space from just outside the box for a screamer that took the wind out of Muntinlupa’s sails.
Eight minutes later, Semacio smashed in a spot kick to make it 4-0 even before the water break.
Cadag added her ninth goal of the tournament in the second half when she scored off the rebound to make it 5-0.
BGC plastered Palawan 7-0 in the semifinals to claim the first finals slot while the arrival of Rodriguez greatly changed Muntinlupa’s game as they knocked out previously undefeated Cebu, 5-1 to set up the finals rematch.
BGC and Muntinlupa were both in group A and during their elimination round meeting, the former scored a 4-1 triumph to claim the top spot going into the knockout rounds.
“I am happy for the girls,” beamed BGC’s coach Shane Cosgrove. “Every week in the 7s, they go hard against each other but in this team, they found a common cause to collectively take home a championship.”
“They knew that Muntinlupa had great quality but we stuck to our game plan of stopping their playmakers and it worked for us.”
In the battle for third place, Jolina’s strike banked in off a deflection in the 45th minute to give Cebu the marginal goal in what was the closest game of the entire tournament.
Palawan’s goalkeeper Desiree Juan, battling an earlier injury and playing without gloves kept her squad in the match all game long only to see her side sink off a deflection.
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