PHILIPPINES SHINE AT STREET CHILD WORLD CUP

The Filipinos beat Brazil 6-2, Ukraine 3-0 and then hosts South Africa 2-1, in the battle for the Shield.

“With a little more time to prepare, we could have won the tournament,” said coach Jess Landagan, who steered the RP ‘Miracle’ team to the consolation SCWC Shield in Durban, South Africa.

South Africa will be playing hosts to the FIFA World Cup later this year.

The tournament saw the emergence of talented striker Noriel Pineones and Erica Mae Innocencio, who is now being offered a football scholarship in one of the top schools in Manila.

Pineones, who belongs to the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation, scored four goals and assisted on Mario Titoy’s two goals in the Shield finals.

“What happened in South Africa only proves that I can change for the better,” Pineones said in Filipino.

The Street Child tournament, which puts to light the plight of homeless children, is for players 14 to 16 years old who must have lived in the streets at one time in their lives.