UP bows down to FEU, settles for UAAP bronze

University of the Philippines fought hard until the end, but eventually fell to Far Eastern University, 0-1, in the semifinals of the UAAP 87 Men’s Football Tournament Sunday, December 8, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in the City of Manila.

With this loss and top-seeded Ateneo de Manila’s win against fourth-seeded UST, they end their campaign as second runners-up.

Substitute Karl Absalon scored FEU’s lone goal in the 76th minute, when he took advantage of an empty UP post when goalkeeper Fonzy Gonzalez stepped out in an attempt to defend the ball.

Both teams traded possessions in the first half, with no shot coming easy. Then, a brawl between Florenz Tacardon and Absalon resulted in the issuance of red cards for UP Head Coach Popoy Clariño and FEU Captain Anthony Baylon, and yellows for UP’s CJ Donato and FEU’s Rustel Buenave.

With Baylon’s ejection, FEU had to play with 10 men for the remainder of the match. However, they were unfazed as they hounded UP’s offense in the second half, making sure that no maroon shirt had an open look at a goal.

FEU goalkeeper Mon Diansuy also made crucial saves throughout the match, with none of UP’s kicks coming close to going in.

Yesterday’s defeat marked the end of UP Captain Macky Tobias’s UAAP career.

FEU, who lost to UP in last season’s final, will face Ateneo for the championship on December 15 in the same venue. Ateneo beat FEU, 2-1, in their first round encounter, while FEU exacted revenge in the second round, 1-0.

Photos from UAAP Media