He took up the sport when he was attending Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCF) in Tiwi, Barotac Nuevo, for his high school studies.
[2] Barsales went on to play for the Barotac Nuevo team in the 1989 Coke Go-For-Goal national championship in the U16 division.
Having a built more developed than his peers at the time, the rival team filed a formal protest against Barsales alleging he was overaged.
He would later help the Iloilo win the U19 Adidas Cup title and garnered the most valuable player award.
[4] By 2023, he is still part of Air Force which entered the 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara[5] Barsales played for the Philippines national team from 1992 to 2011.