As the final whistle blew, three football standouts emerged as the season’s biggest heroes in the UAAP and the NCAA, earning top honors at the Collegiate Press Corps (CPC) Awards presented by Strong Group Athletics on June 29 at Discovery Suites Manila in Pasig City.
Ramil Bation III and Regine Rebosura were named UAAP Football Players of the Year after steering the University of the Philippines (UP) and Far Eastern University (FEU), respectively, to their Season 88 championship triumphs.
Meanwhile, San Beda goalkeeper Marc Pellejo earned NCAA Football Player of the Year honors after anchoring the Red Booters’ campaign to a fourth consecutive and 27th overall NCAA title.
Backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, the football awardees will join other collegiate standouts set to be recognized at the prestigious event, which is also supported by Converge FiberX, San Miguel Corporation, Go for Gold, D’Generals, and Buffalo’s Wings and Things.
After missing the finals last year, Bation willed the Fighting Maroons back to the championship in Season 88.
With the threat of a penalty shootout looming in the Final Four against De La Salle University, the winger from Dipolog City fired a free kick in the 127th minute for the only goal of the game, sealing his team’s spot in the finals.
“Inisip ko nung free kick na ‘yun, te-take ko lang siya kasi last minute na,” Bation shared.
“Lahat kami ng teammates ko, iba-iba na ‘yung nararamdaman kasi last minute na ‘yun [at] papunta na sana sa penalty shootout. Pero di kami sumuko. Nilagay namin yung utak at puso namin sa game and ‘di namin binabaan standards namin.”
In the finals, it was also Bation who sealed the victory for the Fighting Maroons by scoring the second goal just minutes after teammate Charles Lobitaña equalized against FEU, giving him his eighth goal of the season.
For Rebosura, meanwhile, it was all about stepping up for the Lady Tamaraws.
Rebosura made sure the crown stayed in Morayta, firing six goals throughout the season, including the insurance goal in added time of FEU’s 2-0 win over La Salle in the finals.
Rebosura also suited up for the national women’s futsal team in the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup and the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand last December, where the team finished fourth.
In the NCAA, Pellejo became San Beda’s wall, keeping a clean sheet until the Red Booters conceded their first goal against De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the last match of the group stage, a 1-0 loss.
The Red Booters then blanked Emilio Aguinaldo College, 5-0, in the semifinals to set up another finals classic against the Blazers.
Fighting for the championship, Pellejo kept the score level at 0-0 until extra-time stoppage time, before San Beda won 3-2 on penalties.
The Football Players of the Year were selected through deliberations by members of the press covering both the UAAP and the NCAA.
