West Negros College proved too classy against a youthful San Carlos FC side yesterday and forged a title duel with University of St. La Salle for the NOFA Men's Under-19 Football Championship.

The gulf in quality and experience was reflected on a 5-0 scoreline at the Manuel Torres Sports Center pitch, where West Negros strikers Joven Bedic and Ryan Lirio scored two goals each.

The win sets up another intriguing showdown with rival La Salle on Sunday for the title.

Although the teams are composed of different sets of players in the last two tournaments which La Salle both won at the expense of West Negros , another slambang affair is expected, considering the pride and emotion involved in the rivalry.

San Carlos , the Under-17 provincial champion, could only rue their tough luck of facing the formidable Wesnecans in the semifinals.

Adding to the pain was the fact that Lirio came from San Carlos ' rapidly growing list of young standouts playing away from home.

Mark Ferrer scored the other goal for WNC, which has hardly encountered stiff resistance in the tournament.

“I didn't want the players to be complacent,” WNC coach Norman Fegidero said, pointing out that his collegiate team needed to push forward against a side composed of high school players.

“They (players) needed to do be more actio to increase their level of competitiveness,” he added.

La Salle moved to the finals after a 2-0 win over home side Bago City in a match marred by crowd trouble last month.

But the La Sallians have threatened to pull out of the tournament, unless a change in venue or proper security measures are put in place.

Fegidero said NOFA has yet to disclose the venue for the finals. *CPT

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