Rewind to 1988: I have been playing regular football since high-school in Don Bosco Makati. I started by joining an illustrious gang of misfits in 2nd year HS to beat the all-star team section on penalties. We became intramural champs. The following year our teams met again in the finals but with a different result. We lost 2-0. I guess it was just beginner's luck during our 2nd year.
During 3rd yr HS our varsity team was thought of as the dark-horse in the RIFA (Rizal Football Assoc.) tournament. We had 3 players from the seminary (who were known to spend 1/4 of the day playing football), a handful of veteran varsity players, and a group of rookies that included myself. I remember we beat DB-Tondo, Claret, LaSalle-Lipa, Marcos Mariano HS, but got clobbered by Ateneo, LaSalle Zobel, and LaSalle Greenhills.
I quit the team when I was in 4th year HS to concentrate on my studies. Ironically, my grades were lower compared to the previous year. I guess I am more productive if I had extra-curricular activities to juggle with my academics.
1990: I entered Don Bosco Mandaluyong for college. I was hungry for the game so I joined Don Bosco Makati for the NCRFA tournament. We had "imports" from the Visayas region (known to be the bedlam of Philippine football) that included an international referee as coach in the name of "Taruc." Sadly, even with that advantage, we never made it beyond the round-robin as we lost to UST, DB-Mandaluyong, Ateneo, DLSU in our group. My playing with the Makati-team was somehow an issue since I was already studying in Manda. The fact is, the Manda-team tryouts were over when I decided to reopen my football account so I had no choice but to play with the Makati-team.
The following year, 1991-92 season, I played for the DB-Manda Under-18 team. That team was no pushover. It was a mix of players from Manila and Central Luzon. It was a strong team but no real strategy. Our coach just left us with warmups and basic passing plays so we never really had a chance to use our skills to the full. Though that year I can say that I scored a marvelous header against DB-Makati on an away-game, which we won handedly. Fortunately, after one victory after another we reached the semis against UST. I had a fallout with my coach the last practice prior to the game. I never realized how serious it was until he benched me. Not to pry, but we lost that game and had to settle to fight for the bronze. We won the bronze against Ateneo, a well-bred football team, 1-0. I only played the last 5 minutes of that game. A substitute.
The next time I played was about 6 years later. I got word of an alumni team playing in Don Bosco Makati every Saturday afternoon. We played in several tourneys ---the closest I got to feeling a champ again was the final against an all-Arab team in the Alumni Cup of 1999. Though I scored on my turn, we lost on penalties. Specifically, it was the last penalty attempt by our less-experienced teammate who succumbed to the pressure.
Sep 2001: I was working in Singapore ---"forced" to find greener pastures abroad. I managed to join the company football club and played several friendlies. Though I never scored a goal in the 2 friendlies I played, the closest I got was a Beckham-like freekick which passed a wall of defenders but was caught by the outstreched-arms of the 6-foot-plus keeper from hitting below the post. That would've been sweet to be played over and over again in my head if the ball made it through the net. But it was not meant to be.
2003: I managed to step into the football pitch again ---this time in Malaysia. Apparently, company-football is more serious in this country compared to Singapore. Age got the better of me when I joined the try-outs for our company team. My stamina was not as it was 14yrs ago so I ended up playing around 15-20 minutes of the game. I never got to join that team. I also had my first futsal game. An operator vs vendor game that we won hands-down. It was only the 2nd trophy in my football career. I was left wanting for the sport since there would be no games after that.
Mid 2004: I met David, a Singaporean working in Malaysia. We discussed 'the beautiful game' and had invited me to join in their Friday futsal games. Futsal, or indoor football, is a faster, scaled-down version of football. Your stamina needs to be in peak-condition to play the full length. The ball and the pitch is smaller, and the shoes have no studs. I remember my first futsal game clearly: huffing and puffing for air after just 10 minutes. I was literally gasping for air. I felt like my lungs had been squeezed of all the oxygen in it. I was lying on the bench near-collapse. I was dead-tired but the feeling of playing football made me want to enter the pitch again for a chance to play. We played for 3 months until David had to go back to Singapore last January.
Fast-forward to June 2005. David returns! He's aching to play futsal (is it true that there are no futsal-courts in Singapore? waaaah) and has asked Joel who's from another company where we could play. Apparently he and his friends play every Sunday evening. It was a chance to play again. Ahh yes, my Umbro futsal shoes are out of the shoe-cabinet again and I'll be able to smell the [artificial] grass.
No one remembers who won last Sunday. As tiring as it is, goals come thick and fast in futsal that we forgot to take note of the score. But David and the gang can't forget the only Filipino in the court wearing a Brazil shirt scoring 4 marvelous goals that Ronaldo and Pele will definitely be proud of.
I hope we play futsal again soon. David is going back to Singapore tomorrow but Joel will be calling me if they plan to play this weekend. Until that time, I'll be replaying those goals in my head over and over and over...
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