University of La Salle clinched the first finals berth in the NOFA Provincial Men's Under-19 Championships – but not before surviving a highly-physical match against host Bago City FC and the wild hometown crowd that turned the pitch into a virtual war zone.

Referee Carlos Valderrama Jr. was left with no choice but to abandon the match with USLS leading, 2-0, in the 84 th minute when more than 100 spectators stormed the field, all hoping to get a piece of the La Salle players.

No player was seriously injured in the five-minute melee instigated by Bago standout Rey Boy Sacapaño.

“We did not know what else to do but run away,” RP Team standout Arnie Pasinabo, who acted as La Salle coach along with William Valencia, told the DAILY STAR in a telephone interview.

“Our players ran into different directions, one even flagged and rode a motorcycle just to escape the crowd,” Pasinabo, a member of La Salle 's collegiate team, recounted.

Valderrama said Sacapaño, the younger brother of former RP goalkeeper Edward Sacapaño, attacked La Salle player Jae Von Lobaton, shortly after he sent off the two players for punching each other following an airborne collision.

The referee said he was actually escorting Sacapaño out of the playing area when the Bago player went after Lobaton.

In a matter of seconds, Valderrama recounted, the crowd went down from the grandstand and charged to the La Salle bench.

“We could not control the crowd anymore,” he said.

Valderrama said there were some civilians who helped restore order, although he had to stop the match based on FIFA rules.

Although the 2-0 advantage was not enough to declare the leading team the winner, Valderrama said Bago conceded, giving La Salle the first finals berth in the tournament.

Valderrama described the game as “normal”, before the brawl.

He said he issued three yellow cards for each team, mostly to players who joined in the scuffle between Sacapaño and Lobaton.

Pasinabo said a La Salle player, Joey Lacson, already cut above his left eye for an on-field incident, was hit by a punch.

Almost lost in the din of the late-game incidents were the goals of Lope Mayagma and Garret Dominic Parcon, who both struck in the first half to put La Salle on course for their third win in three days.

Mayagma scored with a brilliant chip on a breakaway in the sixth minute, before Parcon finished off a neat 1-2 from the center to give La Salle a 2-0 lead six minutes before the break.

La Salle blanked University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, 2-0, Saturday to set up a semis match with Bago.

Early semifinalist West Negros College is still waiting for the winner of the San Carlos-Don Bosco Technical Institute match, which was postponed indefinitely.

NOFA coordinator Pauline Javelona said the San Carlos team encountered problems with transportation, prompting tournament organizers to grant San Carlos' request for a postponement.

In September, San Carlos also requested that its matches moved to a later date since most of the players in the team were joining the Philippine Olympic Festival.*CPT

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