Our national tackle football team, The AllStar Aguilas, is set to take on the Korea Tigers on Philippine soil at the PhilKor Cup 2016.
The Phil Kor Cup was started just last year in an effort strengthen our Philippine Team’s ability to compete against international opponents. Last year, they unfortunately lost to the Korea Tigers. This year, the Allstar Aguilas have grown both athletically and in number. Thanks to last year’s PhilKor cup as well as outreach and tackle football clinics conducted by members of the PFPA (Philippine Football Players Association) promoted a greater awareness of the sport’s existence in the Philippines.
After intensifying their training, and with new players such as Aguilas head coach Edlen Hernandez and Luke Zetazate who have both played professionally abroad, they are confident that their chances of winning the second time around are great.
The Aguilas hope that as they take Korea on this year, some of the misconceptions about tackle football can be dispelled. “There is this misconception that football is painful to play. With proper technique and form, the sport isn’t all that painful. Probably the day after, your body is more sore than other sports but actually playing the sport isn’t all that painful.
In actuality, the fear of getting hurt holds many Filipinos back from reaching their full potential. The Filipinos that have gotten over that mindset have excelled tremendously,” Fullback Mark Marigomen explains.
Over and above the Aguilas’ desire to take home the win this year, is their desire to see more Filipinos try out and get involved. “In football you need to play with heart. I feel that when committed, Filipinos have heart, no matter if the going gets tough Filipinos won’t give up and that’s something you can’t teach,” Preston Lynch, Wide Receiver says.