By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Macky Tobias drilled a go-ahead goal as the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons ruled the UAAP Season 86 men’s football tournament with a 1-0 win over the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Thursday night, May 16.
Tobias, a former juniors MVP while playing for FEU-Diliman, knocked down a penalty kick in the 50th-minute to give the Fighting Maroons a 1-0 lead before they survived a barrage of game-tying attempts by the Tamaraws in the final 25 minutes.
Aside from clinching their 19th UAAP men’s football championship overall, UP also foiled FEU’s second consecutive golden treble after the Tamaraws earlier triumphed in the high school boys’ and women’s tournaments.
Francis Tacardon, who was named the season MVP and Best Striker, said the Fighting Maroons’ halftime talk changed the complexion of their approach in the game after a tentative first half.
“It was a very intense match. You know, in the first half, it was a back-and-forth game, it was very unpredictable, hindi mo alam sino lumalamang,” Tacardon said in a post-game interview.
“But, then come second half, after the team talked, after we boys talked to each other, pushed each other, lumabas ‘yung UP fighting spirit,” he said.
“Credits to FEU who gave us a really tough time most of the second half,” he added.
Tacardon, along with Tobias, Emilio Bongolan, Joseph Huelva, Angelo Pagdanganan, Vincent Parpan, Frederick Tiambeng, and Orlan Togores wrapped up their UAAP careers as champions.
“As expected, we were up against the championship-caliber FEU team. It was a very good game, but I think we wanted it more. It showed how we played. We were quite fortunate towards the end,” UP first-year head coach Popoy Clarino said.
“I think it was our resiliency that brought us towards the end. We wanted to give back to the UP community, our families and, of course, to God. We won’t be here if we weren’t given this talent to showcase to other people,” he added.
On the part of the Tamaraws, Eugene Arriola, Sherwin Basindanan, Jermi Darapan, Viejay Frigilliano, and Martini Rey have played their final UAAP game./ASC, WDJ