Azkals disperse to teams in Smart Club Championships

Phil and James Younghusband lead the cast of Philippine Azkals who will participate in the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) -Smart Club Championships. The tournament kicks off on August 9 at the Don Gregorio Pelaez Memorial Stadium in Cagayan De Oro. The Younghusband brothers will be playing for the Rizal Football Association team called the Smart San Beda FC with former national mentor Aris Caslib as coach. Smart San Beda FC will be up against Emelio “Chieffy" Caligdong, Ian Araneta and Misagh Bahadoran of the National Capital Region (NCR) team dubbed Technika. With the Technika and Smart San Beda contingents in Group A are the teams of the Leyte and Iligan football associations. Group B has Baguio, Davao, Iloilo and another team from NCR as they will play the group matches in Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo. The Iloilo team, called the Smart Stallions FC, will have former national team members Jovanie Simpron and Ruben Doctora from Far Eastern University, and three youthful South Korean students from Central Philippines University—Kim Seong Jin, Nam Yeoh No and Lee Jeo Young. A single round elimination will ensue with the top two teams advancing to the knockout crossover semifinals slated August 16 and 17 at the University of Makati Stadium. The finalists will play a two-leg home-and-away series on August 20 and 23 possibly at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. “I hope the tournament will encourage more participation from the clubs in the provinces because of competitions like this," said Cyril Dofitas, head of PFF competitions committee. Smart Sports’ Epok Quimpo, a former member of the 2002 Ateneo men’s basketball championship team said that Smart’s involvement is part of the P80 million the company invested to develop the sport. “This tournament is part of our continuing commitment to football and the Philippine Football Federation," Quimpo said. -- ELR/OMG, GMA News