RP football player killed in Thailand road mishap

Two months before he and his team debut at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand, a member of the Philippine futsal team died in a road accident in Thailand Tuesday. Online news site Visayan Daily Star reported Thursday that Dave Fegidero succumbed to injuries in a motorcycle accident in Hat Yai City at 11 p.m. Tuesday. The report quoted Dave's brother, Norman, who said that he learned of the accident from Dave's best friend James Rafols. Dave was 29. "We are shocked. We were expecting him to come home to (Bacolod) when his contract ends this December," said Norman. Norman said Rafols is still trying to get details related to Dave's death. "We don't know if he was the one who crashed on a vehicle, or if he was the one who was bumped. All we know that his back was badly broken. His jaw was also fractured," Norman said. Dave, called 'Taboy' by friends, worked as an English teacher in Hat Yai until his death. Prior to his stint in Thailand, he coached the De La Salle-Zobel football team for two years. Before that, he had stints with the Philippine Under-23 and Senior Teams. Dave studied at Don Luis Puentevella Elementary School and Bacolod City National High School, which he helped to several Palarong Pambansa titles. He has a business degree from the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos. He saw action in the 2000 Tiger Cup. He also represented the country in the 2004 Olympic qualifiers. "He (Dave) was an all-around player," Norman said. After scoring two goals in the ASEAN Futsal Championships in Thailand last March, Dave was recalled to the team for the SEA Games. He also played in the AFC Futsal Championship Qualifiers in Taipei and was instrumental in the team's advance to the final tournament in Japan last May. - GMANews.TV