Why an Iloilo vs Negros Football All Star Game would be awesome

Last Saturday the Clear Dream Match II kicked off in the University of Makati. Both Team James and Team Phil were stocked with the finest players in the country, plus international legends Fabio Cannavaro and Dennis Wise. Team James prevailed 4-1.

The match is the second All-Star Game that we had this year, apart from the UFL-All-Stars vs U23 Azkals matchup recently.

I believe there is another All Star showdown that needs to be played, and that is a match between the two traditional hotbeds of Filipino Football, Iloilo and Negros.

The template for this intra-Visayan smackdown actually comes not from Football but from the sport of Rugby League, similar to the Rugby Union the Volcanoes play.

The State of Origin is an annual best-of-three series involving players from two Rugby-addled states in Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. It is a bitter and contentious rivalry, and is considered by many to be the highest level of the sport.

The games attract huge television ratings all over Australia and the stadiums are always full. The players, all from different clubs, come together to play for state pride. It's a big deal.

In the State Of Origin series, you play for the state where you played your first competitive game.

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Wouldn't it be neat to have something similar in Philippine Football? For so long Ilonggos pride themselves on producing the best Footballers in the land. Negrenses would love to prove them wrong.

This game would also be a way of saying thanks to the two regions that helped keep Pinoy Football alive for decades. It is no way meant to demean the other Visayan provinces like Cebu and Leyte, who have also been the source of great players, plus Mindanao, Metro Manila, and Luzon (including Masbate, and Romblon). It's just that when it comes to sheer volume of players, Negros and Iloilo are tops.

In an era that has seen so many awesome overseas-born Pinoy players and foreign studs take the limelight, it would be good to give credit to Negrense and Ilonggo talent that was once at the centerpiece of Filipino Football.

I will include players from both Oriental and Occidental sides of the island in the Negros squad, which is why I'd call the team Negros United. The Dumaguete area has always been a fertile hunting ground for Footballing talent, and many of their top players end up playing collegiate ball in the Bacolod area, like Jake Morallo.

Eligibility is simple: you play for the province or island where you were born. Jason Cordova may play for Ceres and Dynamic Builders in Bacolod but as a son of Santa Barbara, he suits up for the Iloilo Selection.

I'd make the game a full 90 minute match with extra time and penalties if needed. Six subs maximum per team. No flying and unlimited subs, please. This is a serious match that deserves serious rules.

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Who would win? I floated the idea to Iloilo's Chieffy Caligdong and Negrense Dodz Pasinabo during the Globe Futsal tournament last weekend. The two are team mates on Green Archers United Globe. Chieffy thinks Iloilo will win, while Pasinabo predicts a 4-3 triumph for Negros.

Iloilo has the star power with Azkals like Caligdong and Ian Araneta. But Negros has speed to burn with Tating Pasilan on the left flank, a brilliant center mid in Boyet Cañedo, and a right winger with international experience in Dodz Pasinabo. It's too close to call.

Negros has always been the cradle of goalkeeping in the country, and Negros United can rely on Bago City's Ed Sacapaño between the pipes.

Unheralded stars from the Ceres Footballing system that won the 2013 SMART National Championship and U23 Suzuki Cup, like Jimmy Malalo-an, Jayson Panhay, and Jimuel Ariola deserve an inclusion.

The Iloilo selection team will demonstrate that Ilonggo Football is more than just about Barotac Nuevo. My entire starting back four is from Santa Barbara, and Calinog's Nonoy Felongco, of Stallion and UST, can make an impact, as well as the UAAP Season 76 leading scorer, Jesus Melliza of FEU and Green Archers. He hails from La Paz.

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I'd love a permanent trophy for this game, and it would be great if it was held yearly.

How badly do I want this game to happen? I dare say I'm willing to produce the event if there is interest from the teams. Might the Yansons of Ceres want to help out?

Let the Hiligaynon trash talking begin. For sure neither side will want to lose, and with the legendary feistiness of the Ilonggo players, it could, and should, get heated. Rivalries bring out the best in athletes and teams, and this one needs to be stoked, especially since there is a score to be settled already.

In 2011 Iloilo met Negros Occidental in the Suzuki U23 Final, then a two-legged home-and-away affair. After the first 90 minutes ended 1-1 in Iloilo, the match officials controversially played extra time, with the Negrenses adding two more goals and two Ilonggos getting thrown out of the game.

In the second leg in Bacolod's Panaad stadium, the home side rocked their shorthanded opponents 9-0 for a 12-1 aggregate win.

Who will win the battle for bragging rights across the Guimaras Strait if the two giants meet again? We'll never know until the game kicks off.

ILOILO SELECTION

Head Coach: Rodolfo Alicante (La Paz)

Assistant Coach: Marjo Allado (Barotac Nuevo)

STARTING XI: 4-4-2

FORWARDS: Ruben Doctora (Barotac Nuevo) Ian Araneta (Barotac Nuevo)

MIDFIELDERS: Chieffy Caligdong (Barotac Nuevo) Yok Becite (Barotac Nuevo) Joven Bedic (Barotac Nuevo) Nonoy Felongco (Calinog)

DEFENDERS: Nicholas Leonora (Santa Barbara) Neckson Leonora (Santa Barbara), Jason Cordova (Santa Barbara), Bervic Italia (Santa Barbara)

GOALKEEPER: Wilson Munoz (Barotac Nuevo)

SUBS: Jesus Melliza (La Paz) Boogie Margarse (Barotac Nuevo) Roel Gener (Barotac Nuevo) Jovanie Simpron (Santa Barbara) Mark Sorongon (Santa Barbara) Jake Hugo (Santa Barbara) Ansing Gustilo (Barotac Nuevo) Meliton Pelayo (Barotac Nuevo) Romeo Martinez (Barotac Nuevo.)

NEGROS UNITED

Head Coach: Norman Fegidero (Bacolod)

Assistant Coach: Nene Lazarito (Talisay)

STARTING XI: 4-4-2

FORWARDS: Jinggoy Valmayor (San Carlos City) Janrick Soriano (Talisay)

MIDFIELDERS:Tating Pasilan (San Carlos City) Boyet Cañedo (San Carlos City) Jimuel Ariola (Pontevedra) Arnie Pasinabo (San Carlos City)

DEFENDERS: Camelo Tacusalme (Talisay) Jimmy Malalo-an (San Carlos City) Boiboi Fernandez (Victorias) Jalor Soriano (Talisay)

GOALKEEPER: Ed Sacapaño (Bago City)

SUBS: Ref Cuaresma (Dumaguete) Lemuel Unabia (San Carlos City) Jayson Cutamora (Bacong) Jake Morallo (Bacong) Jayson Panhay (San Carlos City) Anthony Tongson (Bacolod) Jalsor Soriano (Talisay) Ken Dolloso (Bacolod) Rodolfo Bebanco (Bacolod)

What do you think? Are there some players who should be on the lineups who I have missed? Who do you think will win? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section.

Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.