University of the Philippines (UP) is assured of a place in the UAAP Season 86 men’s football Final Four after a 4-0 demolition of Ateneo de Manila University at the UP Football Stadium on Thursday, April 18.

Ramil Bation III netted a second-half brace while Cian Galsim and Jan Ceena Donato also found the back of the net for the Fighting Maroons.

With 21 points, UP entered the Final Four with defending champion Far Eastern University, which had a league-leading 22 points.

The triumph over their Katipunan rival Blue Eagles marked the return of the Fighting Maroons this season to rebound from last year’s disappointing fifth-place finish.

“I think we responded very well coming from the UE [University of the East] game. In the UE game, we were shaky for a bit, but we picked up our aggressiveness in the second half,” UP coach Popoy Clarino said.

“We just reminded our players that in every game, we have to play like this, with this kind of intensity, with this kind of aggressiveness, but still using our heads, and expecting the worst out of every situation. Then just sticking to what we practiced,” he added.

Ateneo remained in fifth spot with 14 points, one off fourth-running De La Salle.

The Blue Eagles sorely missed Ivorian Kofi Agyei, who served his one-match suspension for accumulating two yellow cards.

Up next for the Fighting Maroons is a mouth-watering April 25 showdown with the Tamaraws.

“Hopefully, we can continue with the next two games. We’re hoping that we could bring more confidence as we [get] closer to the Final Four. No one’s safe. We’ll try to secure a spot first. Kasi ‘yan ang gusto namin ma-achieve. Hindi namin na-achieve ‘yan last season eh, so we’ll take it one game at a time,” Clarino said.

Ateneo will take on Adamson University in a must-win match on Sunday, April 21, to keep its Final Four hopes alive. (ABS-CBN News)