THE ATENEO Blue Eagles punched their ticket to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 Finals after outplaying the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Booters, 2-1. The Final Four fixture took place earlier tonight at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in the City of Manila.
After his stellar performance for his squad, rookie Javier Bengson was recognized as the Man of the Match after notching an assist in today’s match.
The Katipunan-based squad opened their semifinals bout with utmost determination. With both teams battling for possession, the Blue Eagle midfielders hustled to create plays and openings. Star rookies Joaquin Collo and Ryen Lim made their presence felt on the pitch as the two continuously challenged the UST backline in the left flank.
In the 11th minute, the Blue Eagles maintained their hold on the attacking third for a corner kick. While the Golden Booters successfully cleared Dov Cariño’s attempt, the Blue and White quickly regrouped for a counterattack. Two minutes later, Javier Bengson found Leo Maquiling in the box, allowing the captain to go head-to-head against UST keeper Miguel Abada in the box. Despite Abada’s effort to parry the ball out at the last second, Maquiling’s header found the back of the net, bringing the scoreline to 1-0.
The Blue Eagles maintained their momentum midway through the first half. With the defensive unit staving off the Golden Booters, the Katipunan-based squad were on a mission to mark the board once more. However, by the 36th minute, UST regained their attacking rhythm to claim a series of set-piece opportunities. Eager to tie things up, Kyler Escobar successfully converted a corner into a goal to end the first half at a deadlock, 1-1.
In hopes of reclaiming the advantage, the Katipunan booters took flight in the second half with early drives down the lane by Collo in the 49th minute, which opened up another goal opportunity for Ateneo. However, the Golden Booters proved quick in solidifying their defensive walls around the zone.
Another attempt to strike gold by midfielder Cariño in the 55th minute was met with a crucial save from UST’s Abada. Both camps then struggled to break free from the deadlock with drawn out shuffles from pillar to post.
Despite being haunted by cold shooting midway, the Katipunan backline provided solace by shutting down a free kick from UST’s Archie Belluga in the 61st minute. As Lim locked in with another onside kick in the 69th minute, Dela Cruz quickly answered back with another header for the Blue and White to put it past the keeper, 2-1.
Although the Golden Booters rallied back with maneuvers down the offensive zone, Ateneo keeper Artuz Cezar stood tall to create enough breathing room. With a third goal in sight, Matteo Roxas strafed down the pitch in hopes of hitting the target once again. However, the España-based side held firm in keeping the scores stationary by the 87th minute.
As UST banked on another Belluga free kick for an opening in the eleventh hour, Ateneo remained firm in locking out their adversaries to secure another highly-anticipated Finals appearance, their first since Season 85.
Head Coach JP Merida had nothing but high praises for the team’s performance today. However, he noted that there is still much to work on from here as the squad heads toward the Finals. “We need to prepare since this is our last game. There’s no other game, there’s no other way. We need to work from here,” he expressed.
The Blue Eagles are now set to reclaim the crown and face the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in a rematch of both the Season 85 Finals and the Season 86 Final Four. The final schedule for the matchup has yet to be determined.
Starting XI:
Ateneo (2): Maquiling (C), Cezar (GK), Santilices, Dela Cruz, Cariño, Escobin, Collo, Bengson, Lim, Fernandez, Arias
UST (1): Abada (C, GK), Escobar, Belluga, Songalia, Obedencio, Selarde, Valderama, Vercide, Garciano, Regis, Garcia
