03/09/2026
Congratulations, MSU-IIT Cats!!!❤️👏🏻
𝗠𝗦𝗨𝗦𝗔𝗔 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘: Purrfect meowment as Cats bag women’s futsal gold
Cats etched its name in the MSUSAA Unity Games 2026 record books, claiming the Women’s Futsal championship after defeating Generals, 3–1, on September 2 at the Dimaporo Gymnasium.
The road to the gold was anything but easy.
“We’re the first in the MSUSAA nga na-champion sa futsal, and that’s a huge thing, a big thing jud na kanang naa sa amoang legacy,” Marianne Jean Lausa, captain of Cats, said.
Royals, Generals, Cats, and Dragons were the semifinal contenders, with Generals surviving a battle against Royals through a shootout and Cats defeating Dragons to secure their spots in the title match.
The demanding schedule was a challenge Lausa said she managed to overcome with the support of her teammates.
“For me lang kay I handled it. If my team were not with me, I couldn’t do it,” she said.
Lausa admitted that nerves were present before and during the championship. “To be honest, at first kinabahan ako since GenSan is such a great team, grabe jud sila ka-kusog, wala silay downtime bitaw, and paspas sila maglihok,” she said.
Still, confidence kept Cats grounded as they faced the pressure. “So, siguro… feeling lang namin kay kaya namin sila. May confidence lang talaga.”
That confidence was reinforced by a message Lausa gave her teammates before the championship clash: “I told my teammates before the finals na amo na ni, amo ana ang championship. Kami na ’to.”
The mindset brought Cats through the final whistle as they secured a 3–1 victory over Generals and claimed the Women’s Futsal gold.
Looking back on what drived the team’s run, Lausa pointed to two qualities that kept them together when the pressure mounted: “Akong maingon sa akoang team kay perseverance and confidence in each other.”
For Lausa, however, the gold is a victory shared by the players who took the court.
“Pasalamatan namo, of course, our Chancellor, the MSU-IIT family, also our family na gisugtan me na makaplay diri, and ourselves… kanang nag-training baya me, we dedicated our time and effort for this.”
With their time and effort finally rewarded, Cats stand atop the Women’s Futsal field as the MSUSAA Unity Games 2026 champions, adding a historic gold to their legacy.
Report by Bai-Ashrena Andang
Photo by Ivan Gil Bantugan
