Match on Feb. 23
(Rizal Memorial Stadium)
5 p.m. – UP vs FEU
Although the path to the big dance required an extra 90 minutes of grit, the defending champions have reached their desired destination.
With the semifinals complete, Far Eastern University is just one win away from a successful title defense.
Karl Absalon and Selwyn Mamon provided the spark, while substitute McJay Neniel iced the match as FEU eliminated the Kyler Escobar-led University of Santo Tomas, 3-2, in their do-or-die Final Four clash in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Football Tournament, Friday at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
The Tamaraws, who bounced back from a 2-1 loss to the Golden Booters last Sunday, have now reached the finals for the fourth straight season.
Standing in their way are the UP Fighting Maroons, who needed extra time to defeat the DLSU Green Booters, 1-0, last Sunday.
The Tamaraws lost to the Fighting Maroons twice in the elimination round, but the winner-take-all championship is a different story.
A victory for FEU would not only mark its first successful title defense since Season 77 but also secure a 12th men’s division trophy and another step toward the school’s fourth treble.
“Very happy,” said coach Jake Morallo. “The mentality of the players, as you can see in the first half they scored two (goals) agad, was very good. After ng first games namin, the following days, we did a game analysis. Dun namin nakita lahat ng pagkakamali at pano naman i-handle tong second game.”
“Now we see naayos namin yung mga mali na yun. The tactics were there; everything: puso, yung lumalaban sila kahit sobrang pagod na, they’re still there fighting para makapasok sa championship game.”
Still reeling from their loss last Sunday, FEU made sure to impose itself on UST early on, with Absalon pulling the strings. The Masbate City native carved open the UST defense to set up Mamon’s fifth-minute opener before doubling the lead himself in the 14th minute with a header off a Czam Acuesta cross.
Escobar, however, gave the Golden Booters a lifeline just before halftime. From the right flank, the UST captain sent a deep cross into the box that caught Tamaraws goalkeeper Mon Diansuy off guard, allowing the ball to sail over him and into the net in the 34th minute.
