From La Liga Youth Tournament held in Penang, Malaysia
It was a gratitude-filled Sunday afternoon as the happy faces of young athletes and their proud parents lit up the activity hall of a village in Manila to celebrate what some say was unexpected—a podium finish for the Arayat Warriors FC in the La Liga Youth Tournament in Penang Malaysia last July 23 and 24.
With only 10 players, Arayat FC, led by coach Hamed Hajimehdi, brought home the bronze medal for the Philippines in the Under-12 category. Arayat FC is composed of Marcus Tanjangco, Nathan Siao, Ellai Siao, Lucho Agoncillo, Rocco Canilao, Ragnar Canilao, John Tejada, Angelo Fernando, Carlene Dy, and Anaiah Viktoria Sotto.
Some 50 teams from around Asia participated in the grassroots tournament organized by Laliga and Sambill Park. According to Arayat FC founder Eumir Siao, the team was formed to give the talented
young Filipino athletes the opportunity to showcase their skills in the global stage.
Fittingly, the name Arayat, which was the street where the team trained during the pandemic, is also the name of a mountain in the Philippines whose peak can be likened to an ideal that the team hopes to reach eventually. “We entered the La Liga tournament with a little over a month’s preparation but the kids have been training for two years,” Siao said. “During the qualifying tournaments we were the top seed but some of the players got injured… but given a complete lineup, we could have won the whole thing.”
Siao credited coach Hajimehdi, a national futsal player from Iran, for his knowledge and experience in helping develop the young Filipino football players into world-class athletes. He added that they are looking to participate in the SingaCup next as well as other tournaments in Australia and in Europe but with a complete line up.
Proud mom Judy Ann Santos, along with husband Ryan Agoncillo, couldn’t help but beam with joy while talking about Arayat FC’s achievement. “More than having placed in the podium, it’s really the experience of being together again after two and a half years,” she said. “Lahat naman kami nagulat… it was a
very happy surprise.”
For Jennylyn Tejada, mother of the team’s scholar athlete John, it was a life-changing experience for them. She said that Siao saw potential in her son and was offered a spot on the team. John, she adds, is a student at Caruhatan West Elementary School and also helps the family by working as a water delivery boy around their area in Valenzuela.
Judy Ann added that she hopes that this achievement by the team will enable the government and sponsors to see that with enough support, the Filipino athlete can achieve anything. "Naniniwala ako sa Filipino athlete, kulang lang sa push,” she said. "Sana sa pangkabuuan, masuportan ang lahat ng ating mga atleta. Unang-una, nung nagsisimula ang mga iyan ng training, wala ni isa. Tapos nung nanalo, biglang bubuhos. Paano ka magbibigay ng inspiration sa mga gusto pa maging athletes in the future kung sa simula pa lang wala naman sila capacity na i-train sarili nila pero iyong puso nila nandoon sa sport na iyon. Anything is possible as long as you believe you can do it and as long as people around you support you. Malayo ang mararating ng Pilipinas.”
And perhaps no one knows more about what the Filipino athlete is capable of achieving more than the day’s surprise guest, weightlifter and Philippine Air Force Second Lieutenant Hidilyn Diaz who gave the young athletes a special message. "Ituloy niyo lang ang pangarap ninyo, magsanay, matuto pang lalo," Hidilyn said.
"Minsan nga puro ako talo, pero kayo first international ninyo, panalo na ng third place. Walang pangarap ang hindi matutupad basta gagalingan ninyo at sa tulong ng mga pamilya, kaibigan, at bansa na nire-repesent ninyo."
Diaz, who arrived with husband and coach Julius Naranjo, gave the Philippines its very first Olympic gold medal during the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Text by Dexter Matilla, [email protected]