Final Four-bound UP dominates DLSU, stays unbeaten in nine outings

The already-Final Four-bound University of the Philippines eased past De La Salle University with a convincing 7-0 win in the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Football Tournament yesterday, December 1, at the UP Diliman Football Field.

Ramil Bation III, who scored five of UP’s last eight goals in the past two games, was unable to play due to his one-game suspension as a result of accumulated yellow cards. Despite his absence, the entire team made up for it by taking turns scoring goals and shutting the door on DLSU’s offense.

Florenz Tacardon opened the scoring spree with a header inside the box in the eighth minute, before following it up with a goal off a Chester Tidor assist in the 12th minute.

Super rookie Josh Garces then put his name on the stat sheet six minutes later from a Noel Hervias pass from almost outside the field. He then made it a brace during the first-half added time with a perfect left-foot kick from Macky Tobias.

Liam Lampayan also scored for UP in the 23rd minute, when his free kick found the back of the net, despite being challenged by DLSU’s Basti Aljama. Meanwhile, Raiken Comla took advantage of a solid Tidor pass to add a goal to his name in the 35th minute.

CJ Donato put the icing on top in the 78th minute, allowing UP to finish 7-0 and undefeated in their last nine games.

While DLSU had multiple attempts to get on the board in the second half, goalkeeper Eric Cachuela made crucial blocks and ball deflections to keep them scoreless.

“It feels good that we got better in the second round heading into the Final Four,” Garces shared. He added that he hopes that the team can correct their existing mistakes before their big match in the semifinals.

With this win, UP briefly held the top spot in the ranking, but Ateneo’s win against UST put them in second place with 26 points and a +22 goal difference. The win gives the team momentum as it heads into the Final Four match against last season’s finals opponent, the third-seeded FEU, who ended the eliminations with 24 points and a +21 goal difference.

Both of their elimination round matches ended in a draw, as FEU scored a last-minute goal to level the match at 1-1 in the first round, while UP’s Bation made the team’s two goals in the last 10 minutes of their second round encounter to end it at 2-2.

Top-ranked Ateneo, who earned 28 points and a +21 goal difference, will battle fourth place UST, who finished with 14 points and a -4 goal difference, in the semis. DLSU, on the other hand, ended its UAAP campaign in fifth place with 10 points and a -18 goal difference.

Both Final Four matches will be played on December 8 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in the City of Manila, with UP and FEU’s game slated at 4:30 PM, and Ateneo versus UST at 7 PM.

Photos from UAAP Media