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PRFU 7s League Match Results (Sept. 13)

9/15/2014

Match results of PRFU 7s League held last September 13, 2014 at Nomad Sports Club, Parañaque City. Congratulations to all the winning teams!

CUP DIVISION:
CHAMPION: Alabang Eagles
1st runner up: Alabang Falcons
2nd runner up: Makati Mavericks A
3rd runner up: Manila Nomads

PLATE DIVISION:
CHAMPION: Makati Mavericks B
1st runner up: Immortals
2nd runner up: Alabang Ibons
3rd runner up: Manila Hapons

WOMEN'S DIVISION:
CHAMPION: Xena
1st runner up: UMAK

BOWL DIVISION:
CHAMPION: Clark Jets
1st runner up: UMAK
2nd runner up: Questors
3rd runner up: Makati Mavericks C
4th runner up: MAAP Warriors

Philippine National Games 2014 Rugby 7s

5/19/2014

The PRFU was delighted once again to be invited to this year's Philippine National Games (PNG) by the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee. The games were held last May 17 at Nomad Sports Club in Merville Subdivision, Parañaque City.

This year's PNG 7s saw an increase in number of registered teams. From last year's 12 men's teams and 4 women's teams, this year saw 15 men's teams and 4 women's teams. Now on it's third year, this PNG 7s was made more special with the debuts of three regional teams - the Davao Durians, the Cagayan de Oro Rugby Club, and the Cebu Lady Dragons.

Rugby 7s is an exciting sport and promotes action, speed, agility and teamwork. It is a perfect sport for any young Filipino athletes who enjoy the challenge of playing a dynamic contact sport. The PRFU restricted participation to the PNG Rugby 7s tournament to Filipino Heritage players only. It was exciting to see over 200 Filipino athletes take the field to compete to become the top Rugby 7s teams in the country.

CUP DIVISION: Alabang Eagles - Cup Champion for 3 Straight Years

The mighty Alabang Eagles team captured the Cup division title for the third consecutive year with a 45-0 win against the CBRE Maverick Vipers A. Composed by Volcanoes and National Development Team players, the Eagles proved once again why they are the best sevens team in the country. They scored a whopping total of 126 points for the whole tournament with no points scored against them. Rupert Zappia set up most of his team’s tries and was later awarded the MVP medal. The CBRE Maverick Vipers A team fought hard in the finals game but was outran and out muscled by the more experienced Eagles team. The Maverick Vipers had to overcome a gutsy Cebu Dragons side in the semis to earn the right to face the Eagles. The Maverick Vipers team won by a successful conversion kick (14-12) to gain a spot in the finals.

WOMEN’S DIVISION: Xena Win Nail-biter Against Cebu Lady Dragons

The women’s division finals match was once again the most exciting game in the tournament. Manila-based Xena won by a slim margin (14-12) against VISMIN’s pride, the Cebu Lady Dragons. With both teams having a record of 2 wins and a draw after the pool rounds, it was the Cebu ladies which topped the ranking with 35 F-A points compared to Xena’s 27 F-A points. Awesome defense by both ends resulted to scoreless 2 minutes into the game. An opportunity opened up for Xena when an overlap of players on the blind side of a ruck 80 meters from the score line saw a 2 versus 1 situation. Winger Nikki Lira used her superb speed to outrun her defender and score in between the posts to score the game’s first try. It was skipper Ada Milby who ran the length of the field to score Xena’s second try when an advantage was given after a knock on play. Both tries were converted and half time score was 14-0 for Xena.

Cebu Lady Dragons were able to regroup on the break and came out on fire at the second half. Skipper Luisa Jordan led the charge with a huge tackle and counter ruck right after their kick off. The Lady Dragons stole the ball and caught Xena unprepared for defense. Ching Alerta found a gap and scored the Lady Dragons’ first try of the match which was successfully converted. With a few minutes remaining in the match, Jordan made a break on the wing 60 meters from the try line and was able to offload the ball to a supporting Dixie Yu. Yu outran her defenders and scored her team’s second try. Try wasn't converted and score remained at 14-12. Few seconds remained in the match and Xena only needed to maintain possession of the ball while the Lady Dragons needed to steal the ball. A penalty for a high tackle from a Cebu player gave the chance to Xena to kick out the ball and secure their win. Hats off to both teams for a very exciting and intense finals match for PNG 7s. Lira was awarded the MVP of the tournament for scoring the most points for her team and for her courageous defense. Watch these teams play again against each other in the PRFU Women’s 15s Invitational tournament next month.

PLATE DIVISION: Alabang Ibons Win Plate Trophy Over QCPU Questors B

Alabang Ibons won the Plate championship against the QCPU Questors B team with a score of 15-7. The Ibons team, composed mostly of former university basketball players, used their size to their advantage against the speedy QCPU boys. Most of these players only started playing the sport mid last year and has already shown a lot of potential because of their natural athletic abilities. The QCPU boys played well and managed to sneak in a try and conversion but time was not enough for them to make a comeback. Ibons’ Kenneth Balasote was awarded the Plate MVP.

BOWL DIVISION: QCPU Questors A Beat UMAK Herons A to Win Bowl

University rivals QCPU Questors A and UMAK Herons A faced off again in a finals match for this year’s PNG 7s. Last year, the QCPU boys beat the UMAK boys in a tightly-contested Plate finals match to secure their gold medal finish. This year, QCPU gave the same results and won 15-0 to secure another gold medal finish. Because of his speed and strength combination and overall team leadership, QCPU captain Mark Jerald Esteban was awarded the MVP of the Bowl division.

SHIELD DIVISION: CDO Rugby Club Win Shield on their PNG 7s Debut

Newly formed Cagayan de Oro Rugby Club proved they are a team to watch out for in the future when they won the Shield finals match (27-5) against the UMAK Herons B. Playing only for a few months, the Rafters impressed the spectators with their impressive tackling technique and strength in contact. Noel Villa, founder and playing coach for the Rafters, led the team’s attack. Luis Banaag showed everyone that there’s no backing out in a game of Rugby when he continued to play the remaining games after he got hit hard from a previous game. For his courageous effort, he was awarded the Shield MVP medal.

The PNG allowed the PRFU to showcase the growing sport of Rugby 7s and the Filipino athletes were extremely proud to compete to win National PSC medals. Rugby 7s is now played at the SEA, Asian and Olympic Games, and the PSC are looking to build further Rugby 7s programs to claim medals at these events.

The PRFU would like to thank the Philippine Sports Commission for inviting Rugby 7s to be a sport once again at the 2014 Philippine National Games and Nomad Sports Club for once again hosting the tournament.

Official PNG results that are registered with the Philippine Sports Commission for 2014:

GOLD MEDAL

CUP DIVISION

Alabang Eagles

WOMEN'S DIVISION

Xena

PLATE DIVISION

Alabang Ibons

BOWL DIVISION

QCPU Questor A

SHIELD DIVISION

CDO Rugby Club

SILVER MEDAL

CUP DIVISION

CBRE Maverick Vipers A

WOMEN'S DIVISION

Cebu Lady Dragons

PLATE DIVISION

QCPU Questors B

BOWL DIVISION

UMAK Herons A

SHIELD DIVISION

UMAK Herons B

BRONZE MEDAL

CUP DIVISION

Clark Rugby Club

WOMEN'S DIVISION

UMAK Lady Herons

PLATE DIVISION

Immortals

BOWL DIVISION

MAAP Warriors B

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Men's Cup Division: Rupert Zappia
Ladies Division: Nikki Lira
Men's Plate Division: Kenneth Balasote
Men's Bowl Division: Mark Jerald Estebam
Men's Shield Division: Luis Banaag

FINAL RANKINGS

Cup Division
Alabang Eagles
CBRE Maverick Vipers A
Clark Rugby Club
Cebu Dragons

Women's Division
Xena
Cebu Lady Dragons
UMAK Lady Herons
QCPU Lady Questors

Plate Division
Alabang Ibons
QCPU Questors B
Immortals
Davao Durians

Bowl Division
QCPU Questors A
UMAK Herons A
MAAP Warriors B
CBRE Maverick Vipers B

Shield Division
CDO Rugby Club
UMAK Herons B
MAAP Warriors A

Photo gallery (All photos on this page by Mark Cristino)

Alabang Eagles Take Out the PRFU JML 10s

3/11/2014

The Alabang Eagles proved that they will be a force at this year’s Manila 10s by convincingly defeating the Manila Nomads Rugby Club in all three rounds of the JML 10s league. The Eagles showed they can play attacking rugby and capitalized on every opportunity, with Volcano players Gaz Holgate and Andrew Wolff leading the way. Both made incisive runs to test the Nomads' defense. Nomad’s halfback and former captain Aaron Briddon kept the Nomads in the game with two tries that came from powerful forwards' play. The Eagles’ star-studded back line proved to strong and ran in four tries to win the final by 29 – 10.

The Women’s division was played over two games between the Manila Mayhem and the Cebu Lady Dragons. The Manila team won both the games to claim the championship. Both teams played with passion and determination but the Manila team was able to control the field advantage and showed that defense wins championships by continually pinning the Cebu team in their own quarter. Cebu came back in the second game and the Manila team was up to the challenge with some storming runs from Lady Volcanoes captain Ada Milby and torrid defense from Acee San Juan and Cassie Umali. The Manila team won the first game by 12 – 0 and then hung on to win the second game and the final by 12 – 5.

The Alabang Ibons took out the Plate Championship by defeating the CBRE Mavericks by 31 – 0. Both these teams will be playing in the Manila 10s in two weeks and will push to win either the Bowl or Shield trophy. The Ibons took control of the match, with Juan Engelbrecht and David Carman displaying good attacking skills and opened up the Mavericks' defense on several occasions.

The Alabang Falcons made it a clean sweep for the Alabang team by winning the Bowl Division. The Falcons, who are predominately from PNG, showed they have adapted from playing Rugby league to now understanding the rules of Rugby Union. The Falcons' strong defense and love of attacking rugby served them well as they dominated the Bowl division to win the final by 33 – 7 over the CBRE Vipers. The Falcons will also make their debut at the Manila 10s and will definitely challenge the higher rated teams, especially now that they have played the last five weeks in the JML 10s league.

BOWL CHAMPION: FALCONS
PLATE CHAMPION: ALABANG IBONS
WOMEN'S CHAMPION: MANILA MAYHEM
CUP CHAMPION: ALABANG EAGLES

MVP: Sione Mokom (Falcons)
Best Player: Joe Flynn (CBRE Vipers)
MVP: Juan Engelbrecht (Alabang Ibons)
Best Player: Jay-r Ramirez (CBRE Mavericks)
MVP: Hilla Indigne (Manila Mayhem)
Best Player: Astrid Sadaya (Cebu Lady Dragons)
MVP: Masayuki Sekiguchi (Alabang Eagles)
Best Player: David Feeney (Manila Nomads)

Good job to all the teams and congratulations to all the winners!

PRFU JML 10s League Results and Log Points Table

2/18/2014

Match results of the PRFU JML 10s League round 1 and 2 last February 8 and 15 at Southern Plains and Nomads Sports Club.

TEAMS:

Cup: Alabang Eagles, Manila Nomads, Cebu Dragons

Plate: Nomads Carabaos, Manila Hapons, Alabang Ibons, MAAP Warriors, CBRE Mavericks

Bowl: Falcons, Clark Rugby Club, CBRE Vipers, Quezon City Men’s Rugby Club, Makati Men’s Rugby Club

Women's: Xena, Makati Women's Rugby Club, Quezon City Women’s Rugby Club Ladies, Cebu Lady Dragons

February 8, 2014 - ROUND 1 at Southern Plains

February 15, 2014 - ROUND 2 at Nomads Sports Club

Log points tables as of February 18, 2014:

Women's Log Points

Cup Log Points

Plate Log Points

Bowl Log Points

The next round of the PRFU JML 10s league will be on Saturday, February 22, at Southern Plains field, Laguna.

Alabang Eagles Win the Head & Shoulders 7s League Finals

10/30/2013

The Alabang Eagles Rugby Club proved once again they are the best 7s team in the country. After they made history as Philippine National Games Rugby 7s inaugural champions last June, the Eagles won the Cup finals in the PRFU Head & Shoulders 7s League last October 26, 2013 at Nomads Sports Club.

Led by Volcano player Tim Bweheni and National Development Team player Jovic Paypon, they beat a gutsy Cebu Dragons side 24-0. The boys from Alabang showed a combination of speed and strength plus awesome teamwork. The Dragons, led by former Volcano Noel Flowers, fought hard until the last second but failed to answer the Eagles' attacks. Great job to both teams for this hard-fought and exciting finals match. Finals MVP was awarded to Jovic Paypon.

In the Plate finals, it was the Alabang Ibons who ran away with the trophy with a convincing win 38-0 over the Manila Hapons. Former Volcano David Carman led the Ibons' attack while teammate Johnny Leo scored the tries by using his stepping skills and superb speed. Leo was later awarded the MVP of the finals match.

The Bowl finals saw a David vs Goliath matchup between the Falcons and the Clark Rugby Club Boys. The CRC boys, despite the disadvantage in height, showed everyone why 7s rugby is a game of speed. With Falcons leading most of the game, the CRC boys almost made a comeback with their 2 hard-earned tries in the last few minutes. Full time and score ended with a 21-12 Falcons win over CRC. For his outstanding effort and never-give-up attitude, CRC's Michael Maralas was named the finals MVP.

Cebu Lady Dragons captured the Women's division 7s crown with a 26-0 win over rival Manila Mayhem. Finals MVP Aiumi Ono, led the Lady Dragons' attack during the finals game. Manila Mayhem gave a good fight despite the absence due to injuries of 3 of their key players. Great job to both teams and congratulations to the Cebu Lady Dragons for a well-deserved win.

This finals match was the Lady Dragons' tribute game to their long-time captain, Ono, who is set to leave for Japan in a few weeks. She is one of the pioneers of the Lady Volcanoes 7s and 15s squad and a PRFU Regional Development Officer. PRFU wishes miss Aiumi Ono best of luck. The union highly-appreciates her contributions to the development of the grassroots program in the country.