Leylam dethrones ERCO in fight-marred final of Aboitiz Cup

CEBU, Philippines — Leylam FC dethroned ERCO FC via a masterful 5-0 shutout in their fight-marred final rematch to emerge as the new inter-company champion in the 19th Aboitiz Football Cup late Thursday night at the Paref-Springdale School field in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.

So dominant the Leylam booters were that Rene Sanchez broke the ice of the match with only five minutes gone by in the match.          

ERCO tried to get even, but was negated by Leylam’s stifling defense.

With vengeance at the back of their minds, Leylam got even fiercer in the final half where they bombarded the hapless ERCO with four more goals, incuding one each from brothers Baris and Evren Tasci. The other two were fired by Michael Pacite and Paul Diao.

Before Leylam exacted revenge at ERCO though, the game was stopped for nearly 10 minutes as players from both sides figured in a heated altercation.

In the aftermath of the commotion, ERCO’s Archival Comendador was slapped with a red card for reckless tackling, while Oscar Densing was banned for his unsportsmanlike behavior.

It’s the second time in a span of just two weeks that the bitter rivals engaged in an ugly tussle. The first was during the 15th Thirsty Football Cup recently at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Meanwhile, aside from the crown, Leylam also bagged four out of the five special awards at stake.

Pacite was named as the Most Valuable Player, Virgilio Manayon the best goal keeper, and Ruffy Llorente the best defender. Their teammate Rene Sanchez got the Golden boot for logging in a total of nine goals.

ER Orale was the lone bright spot for ERCO with the best midfielder honors.