Milo Schools’ U18 tournament: 8 teams vie for semifinal spots today

The Milo Schools’ Under18 football tournament is set to light up the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground, Carifesta Avenue today as the quarterfinal round of the 10th edition of the competition gets underway.
Today eight teams will vie for the opportunity to get one step closer to a $400,000 grand prize. At 13:00hrs, last year’s runners-up Chase’s Academic Foundation and Bartica Secondary School will face off with the first spot in the semifinals up for grabs.
Chase are so far unbeaten in the tournament, winning by large margins while Bartica has eased past a number of their opponents, their recent win also being a narrow one.
Heading into today’s game, Chase’s Duquain Samuels believes “a little bit more communication and just for the team to press together” will help his team perform better. The youngster is confident this is their chance to clinch the title.
“My confidence is at 100%, and I feel this year is going to be ours. So, I got a lot of confidence in me and my team,” Samuels shared.
Bartica’s Ashton Simmons has said about what his team needs for better performances, “We need a proper ground. They don’t have a proper ground right now, and more youths to come out and play football. We have the spirit to win the whole competition, I like my team spirit. Coach is doing good,” Simmons later told this publication.

At 14:30hrs, East Ruimveldt Secondary will take on President’s College. PC, who are coming off of a very narrow victory in the Round of 16, have been boosted in confidence.
Shemar Barrington shared about what to expect from PC going forward: “Just the same motive for the whole tournament. It’s either go hard or go home; play our best, or go home.”
Barrington added, “Every team wants to win the tournament.”
Then, at 16:00hrs, Ann’s Grove Secondary will go toe- to-toe with Waramuri Primary Top. Waramuri have thus far proved to be a force to be reckoned with, while Ann’s Grove have been tested in numerous pressure situations.
“Well, we just have to come out, train hard, and put in the work. We get it to go to the final,” Ann’s Grove Narron Jerrick has shared.
On the other hand, Waramuri’s Odell Holmes has said about their weak points: “I think we need to work on some things that we didn’t get correct this game [Round of 16].” He went on to touch on their Round of 16 victory, stating, “Winning this game is a very good thing for me and my team, cause it kind of motivates us.”
The curtains will come down on the quarterfinals with a Georgetown derby featuring Dolphin Secondary and West Ruimveldt Secondary.
While West are unbeaten thus far, Dolphin can be considered underdogs with a few experienced campaigners in their side.
Dolphin’s Gerry Burnette said about his team’s requirements: “We need more communication and more exposure. We have to train harder, pray a lot and so, (be)cause it’s train hard, win easy,” Burnette divulged.
The Milo tournament is sponsored by Massy under their Milo brand, MVP Sports and Yellow Steel Inc, with support from the Ministries of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, and Local Government and Regional Development.