The 1st ever PUHC Battle of the Elements Tourney is finally over. And as the dust settled, one team reigned supreme above them all... Team Earth defeated Air in the championship round to capture the 1st ever Battle of the Elements crown!
Never the favorites to win the tournament, Team Earth, to the shock of everyone took a quick 4-0 lead against Air in the 1st half of the finals and never looked back. Breezing thru Team Air for a 6-2 win.
The tournament was smooth sailing all the way. The two day tourney which gathered almost 50 participants from PUHC was very successful. Thanks to the stellar job of rookie tournament director Achi Michelle and her sis Jowi.
As expected, The Battle of the Elements 1st day match-ups were intense. As teams jockeyed for "playoff" positioning, no team could afford to take it easy. As a simple loss here, or a low score there even if you win the match could still cost your team a slot in the championship round.
Round 1- Team Air squeaked by Earth for a 3-2 win. Team Earth, still finding the right setup, could not match Airs offense and suffocating defense in the first half. Team Earth played better in the 2nd half but simply ran out of time. On the other side of the pool, Metal easily defeated Water 5-1.
Round 2- This is where things got a little interesting. With Fire blazing thru Team Water for an easy 4-2 win, all eyes were on the 2nd pool where Air was slugging it out against Metal. Both teams were unable to score a single goal all the way 'till the final minute of the 2nd half. That is until Metal's Team Captain Leonard found a hole in Team Airs defense, allowing him to flick the puck to his forwards and letting his team get the winning goal in the dying seconds of the game! Everybody cheered on that goal. Especially Team Earth who got their collective asses kicked by Air the previous round. Hehe..
Round 3- For Team Earth, their next match is a must-win. Because if they lose again they can kiss their championship hopes goodbye. They squared up against Metal in the final round. Finally finding the right formation and defeating Metal 3-2. Team Air easily extinguished Fire 4-1 on their final game of the night.
The 1st day ended with Team Air on top of the leader board. Having fought 3 games, they ended their campaign with a 2-1 standing. Followed closely by Earth 1-1, Metal 2-1, Fire 1-2, and Water 0-2.
After Day 1, almost all of the players were either limping or nursing a bruise or a concussion. That only proves how tough the games were. Both physically and mentally. As evidenced by fellow Earthling Roger. Who during the entire 1st day of the tourney couldn't even manage to show a single sign of happiness or even a smile because of the amount of whoop-ass that he got from the other Earthlings. Hehe.. The Gentledog also saw Air's Vice-Captain Nix at Talengs place the next day sporting at least 4 new bruises. Taleng looked wasted since shes already sick even before the tournament. The Gentledog was again nursing a bruised rib since he got kicked by Team Airs' Ram during their match up.
Going into the 2nd Day of the tourney, there was a lot of trash talking going around even before the start of the games. Which were all in good faith of course. (Baka may mapikon na naman.. hehe) Led by the Gentledog, who was readily proclaiming that night that his team would fight 3 matches that day. Meaning to say that his team will win their first two matches and would go on to the championship round... which would be their 3rd. Hehehe.. Cocky? I don't think so. Thats just part of the psy-war of Taleng and the Gentledog. Hehe.. Team Earth was never the favorite to win it all, so were just psyching-out everyone. Which we're hoping would benefit our team and give us all the positive energy that we need. The Gentledog went even as far as telling some of the Tourney organizers to have our team's shirt printed with "Champions". Hehe..
Round 1- Day 2 started with Team Air going against the undermanned Water team and Team Earth grinding it out with Fire. Team Air easily drained Water out of the pool. Lacking in key players, Team Water simply didn't have the arsenal and firepower against the highly motivated Air. Who needed just another win to get to the championship round. Which they easily got. Its just too bad that reinforcements of Water didn't arrive because they were one of the favorites to win the championship right from the start.
Team Earth's match against Fire was a slug fest. Team Earth, still adjusting with its new player Cid, who replaced Bummer in the lineup was still down by 2 points with just 6 minutes left in the second half, The Gentledog cant remember anymore if the lead was by a point or 2 but he's sure that Fire was still up with only 6 minutes left because some of Firemen were already asking the time-keeper how much time there's left on the clock. And I clearly remember the time-keeper shouting 6 minutes!!! "Shit.. Patay ako ngayon pano na yung trashtalk ko" said the Gentledog. The biggest break of the game happened came when the Gentledog accidentaly flicked the puck at Fireman Jowi. Which under the PUHC-regular-game-norm, would be an automatic stoppage of play for safety and checking purposes if the other person is alright. The Gentledog and Jowi rose up and as he was apologizing for the flick, The Gentledog noticed that the ref wasn't able to see what happened and was still letting the play continue. Some of the Firemen noticed this, got down and tried to defend their goal but to no avail since most of the Earthlings as well continued with the play. That play provided all the momentum Team Earth needed to defeat and upset the newly reinforced Fire Team 3-2.
Round 2- In the penultimate round, this is where the championship match ups would be finalized. In pool one, Team Fire, coming from an upset defeat against Team Earth, melted Metal easily. Leaving them to rust in the pool for a 2-1 victory. Team Earth, who by now found the perfect formation, rattled Team Water for a 6-0 rout.
Final Round!- It all boiled down to this... Team Earth against Air for the Championship and Metal against Fire for 3rd place! Team Earth sucked all the oxygen out of Team Air in the early minutes of the game and quickly built a commanding 4-0 lead. Already winded, there was this immediate deafening silence on the once-proud Team Air goal and sub area. Even some of the spectators couldn't believe it. Heck, Team Earth couldn't either. But still, it was a welcome surprise. By then, it was just about managing the clock and making sure that Team Air wouldn't be able to stage a comeback or have any chance to fight for the lead.
In the other pool, Team Metal, with a score to settle against Fire, got their revenge and won 3rd place with a last minute goal again! This time using their last minute heroics against the heavily favored Fire. Rounding up both the championships and the tournament.
For the P500 tourney fee, every cent of it was worth it. Not only did the PUCHers get to play for 2 days, each PUCHer will also get his/her own tourney shirt! Win or lose! Also a big THANK YOU to the tourney sponsors! (Who helped lower the tourney fee as well hehe). Where else can you get a pre-tourney gift pack, a chance to win a hockey bag, and have some snacks (with drinks to boot as well!) before the final game? ;)
Biggest props to my fellow Earthlings! Thank you for keeping my tourney win streak intact. Hehe..
To our super backs Taleng, Bummer, and Ferdie! Ayos mga kapatid! Nakadale tayo! Hehe..
To our bacolod inasal comeback PUHCer Jay Abello!
To our Sto. Niño Aleta! You did it again! Nagpakulot pa ha kaya x2 ang swerte! Hehe.. Amen!
To Roger! Na sa wakas nakangiti na nung 2nd night. At least nakabawi nung finals diba? Hehe..
To the Ambasadorrr! Bro how come wala ka pang "victory treat" for Team Earth? :) Kelan tayo?
To Meyan! Ayos ba? ;) Told yah kayang kaya natin to teammate :) Hehe..
To Cid! Who helped anchor the forwards! Thanks for the post tourney treat bro!
4 in a row. :)
Thanks for reading ;)
