THE ATENEO Women’s Football Team (AWFT) were crowned champions of the Women’s Open division while the Ateneo Men’s Football Team (AMFT) finished 3rd in the Men’s Open division at the Pilipinas Cup 2017 held from October 28 to 31 in Clark, Pampanga.
For her sterling performances in the tournament and for making the final penalty kick save that sealed the title, AWFT’s Mariane Caparros was named Most Valuable Player (MVP).
The annual invitational tournament afforded the Blue and Lady Eagles a chance to develop cohesion and confidence in their preseason preparations.
The tournament format and scheduling provided a stern fitness test as well with teams playing up to two games a day for four days. Both teams’ success speaks to their increasing physical levels as well as the depth of their squads.
Lady Eagles’ unbeaten title run
The attacking force of the AWFT was on full display in their title-winning campaign, racking up 12 goals in only five matches played.
The Lady Eagles finished their run winning four matches and drawing once. Rookie Jill Panganiban found the back of the net four times and Tessa Bernardo netted three of her own to lead the team’s offensive charge throughout the tournament.
The Lady Eagles’ opening match was a 5-1 win over players from the State Collegiate and Universities Athletic Association 3 (SCUAA 3) with five different Lady Eagles hitting the target. Panganiban and Bernardo opened their accounts to accompany goals from Nona Amoncio, Bea Velasco, and Bianca Almeda.
Their next match was a well-earned 2-2 result against the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons. Goals from Panganiban and fellow rookie Icee Calimbo were enough to secure the draw over their Katipunan-based rivals. Bernardo’s well-placed free kick lifted the Lady Eagles to a tight 1-0 victory over the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws in the final group stage match.
Jill Panganiban netted a brace and Tessa Bernardo and Martie Bautista found goalscoring form to inspire a 4-1 semifinal victory over SCUAA 3 and set up a championship matchup against FEU (def. UP 1-0).
In the finals, regular time finished 0-0 after a disciplined defensive effort from the Lady contained key FEU players. With the championship on the line, Panganiban, Bernardo, Calimbo, and Pam Diaz stepped up to slot home their penalties, and MVP Caparros stopped FEU’s final spot kick to seal a 0-0 (4-3) triumph.
Blue Eagles’ search for consistency
The Men’s Open division was played out in a league format, with no knockout final rounds, which added to the urgency to win points in every match and do it with an efficient goal-producing attack. The AMFT certainly had no trouble doing so against teams outside the major collegiate leagues in Manila, but struggled to find the net against their more familiar rivals.
Nonetheless, the AMFT’s tournament was notable for the emergence of Will Grierson, who collected six goals, as the centre back was tested out at striker. Jarvey Gayoso netted thrice, while Koko Gaudiel and Rupert Baña claimed two goals each to round out Ateneo’s other attacking weapons.
The Blue Eagles opened with a 7-0 demolition of FC Angeles. Grierson lit up the score sheet with 4 goals while Gayoso, Baña, and Gaudiel produced a goal apiece. The Blue and White then suffered a 0-1 defeat to the eventual champions University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers before bouncing back to a 1-1 draw against the San Beda College (SBC) Red Lions.
Baña’s corner kick turned into an own goal in Ateneo’s favor and proved to be enough to secure the deadlock.
The AMFT came up with a more convincing performance in their 5-1 win over Villa Angela FC courtesy of a hat-trick from Gayoso and goals from Baña and Xavier Alcuaz. Their next matchup against 2nd-placed Sugod FC, composed of FEU players, ended in a 0-0 stalemate, which meant the Blue Eagles missed a chance to leapfrog into the top two.
Their 5-0 thrashing of Golden Eagles through Grierson’s brace, Gayoso, Gaudiel, and Justin Dy in their final match was not enough to propel them up a spot as the Blue Eagles finished in 3rd.
Finding the winning formula
As it is still the preseason, both the Blue and Lady Eagles will use their experience in the Pilipinas Cup to build winning habits, develop tactical discipline and match fitness, and explore squad depth all in preparation for the season kicking off in the new year.
Men’s Team Captain Julian Roxas spoke on the value of preseason tournaments such as this. “We are improving everyday and a lot of the players are getting valuable experience and playing time. We still need to keep working and continue peaking as UAAP approaches and this tournament helped us in that aspect,” shared Roxas.
Women’s Team Captain Nona Amoncio added, “The team was able to adapt well physically and mentally throughout the tournament. Identifying both the little and huge mistakes to improve on really helped us.”
On the more technical side of the team’s performance in the tournament, Roxas said, “Results may not be the best, but the games helped us figure out what formations and positions of players are viable for the team’s system.”
Amoncio echoed his perspective, saying, “We are still experimenting our player rotation and it is helping a number of players to step up. We still need to make a lot of adjustments, but this tournament truly helped us propel ourselves independently and as a team.”
