Ceres

It’s a dream come true for the Ricky and Leo Rey Yanson-owned Ceres Football Club as it reached the finals of the 2013 PFF-Smart Club Championship. The Negros Occidental-based club will enter the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium tonight to beat Pasargad FC and become the national champion.

Boosted with the confidence built on their victories over the top clubs in the United Football League – Stallions FC (1-0), Global FC (1-0) and Kaya FC (3-1), this provincial club earned the respect from being an underdog to a powerhouse team.

Despite the short preparation, Ceres was able to establish a strong team nobody has expected. Getting the right players for the right positions were among the keys why this club parades in the finals.

Victorious Ceres-NOFA against UFL defending champion Stallion, 1-0 last Sunday will face Global Football Club in the PFF-Smart National Club championship on January 19, Saturday at Rizal Memorial Stadium football field in Manila.

Global FC beats Nomads FC, 2-1 also last Sunday at Rizal Memorial Stadium Football field courtesy of Carli de Murga and Patrick Reichelt, both members of the national team.

Korean midfielder Kim Jong Mook saved the day for Ceres-NOFA to defeat United Football League champion Stallion in the 46th minute.

Head Coach Freddie "Nene" Lazarito will still bank on their latest win to inspire the team against powerhouse Global.

Ceres advanced to the Round of 16 after claiming the top spot in regional qualifying last year in San Carlos City, beating the Cebu Queen City United FC, 1-0, and Leyte FC, 10-0.

The Negros Occidental Private School Sports, Cultural and Educational Association (NOPSSCEA) represented by University of St. La Salle-Ceres Football team reclaimed the football crown from arch-rival Iloilo PRISAA, 2-1 in the 2012 Western Visayas Private Schools Athletic Association (WVPRISAA) football tournament at the Cornelio Villareal football pitch Saturday morning.

Iloilo PRISAA represented Western Visayas for two years, although the Negrenses were the defending champion, but failed to represent due to a boycott in 2011 and suspension last April this year when the national PRISAA was held in Cebu City which was on a high spirit after striker Mark Anthony Sumabong found his mark in the 6th minute connecting from the unguarded right plank.

This was followed by several attempts on both sides and more from Negros but failed to find their marks.

Leaders of the mother workers’ union and the specific workers and employees’ union in one of the country’s biggest transport firms, Vallacar Transit which operates Ceres Bus company, and have now fielded more than a thousand buses in Mindanao, the Visayas and even in Luzon, have taken exception to negative reports aired by a rival union, itching to replace it during the certification election on Friday, November 29.

The Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers’ Union (PACIWU) chapter officers in the Vallacar Transit union and its officials debunked the claims of Vallacar Transit Employees’ Union-Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP-Mendoza wing), who claim the PACIWU-Vallacar Transit Union, Herrera wing, claimed it has not helped them, by ensuring they get the correct wages and benefits. There are so many issues they have raised against PACIWU during their press conference the other day, also at the Negros Press Club (NPC).