Alfonso Gonzalez emerged as the University of the Philippines’ (UP) hero in their 3-2 escape over Adamson University at the UP-Diliman Football Field on Sunday, March 17.

In their final game of the first round of the UAAP Season 86 men’s football tournament, the Fighting Maroons built a three-goal cushion at the half, but needed a massive stop from Gonzalez late to secure all three points.

Gonzalez had entered the game in the second half after starting keeper Ryan Tiambeng suffered an injury.

“As soon as I found out that our first keeper, Ryan, got injured, I felt like I needed to bring the team back together, to focus and to stay organized, because I heard it was a really bad injury,” Gonzalez said.

“I told everyone to dedicate this game and finish it off with a win for Ryan.”

Ramil Bation III grabbed a first half brace with goals in the 11th and 34th minutes, while Francis Tacardon compounded the Soaring Falcons’ woes in the 37th minute.

But UP struggled to hold onto the lead, with Adamson captain Arjay Buenaobra pulling one back in the 55th minute.

To make matters worse for UP, Tiambeng suffered a bad landing after his attempt to save the strike, which called Gonzalez to action.

Lorent John Jayaon then brought the Soaring Falcons closer with a goal in the 68th minute, and Adamson looked almost certain to snatch a point by the end of the match when UP defender Charles Lobitaña brought down Dexter Jhon Casing in the box.

Gonzalez came through with a big stop on Carl Mahinay, sealing the win for UP.

The Fighting Maroons rose to second place in the standings with 12 points and a plus-2 goal difference behind four wins and two defeats.

On the other hand, Adamson remained at the bottom of the standings at the end of the first round with two points and a minus-7 goal difference. (ABS-CBN News)