DESPITE EFFORTS to clinch a twice-to-beat bonus, the UST Golden Booters suffered a slim 2-1 loss against the top-seeded UP Fighting Maroons in the UAAP Season 88 men’s football tournament at the UP Diliman Football Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 25.
UST, which went unbeaten in the past five games, fell to a 5-3-3 win-draw-loss record for the third seed. Meanwhile, league leader UP maintained its undefeated record, now at 9-2-0.
The Diliman squad struck first in the 6th minute from a close-range goal by center back Martin Josh Meriño off an excellent long throw by Jian Caraig, 1-0.
With multiple scoring chances to tie the game, the Golden Booters struggled to penetrate the Maroons’ backline in the six-yard box.
Chris Valderama’s long-range attempt, Archie Belluga’s volley and rookie Yuan Maniscan’s near goal from a sharp counter-attack were all denied by UP goalkeeper Alfonso Gonzalez’s aggressive rushing saves.
The España crew finally broke through with an equalizer off a rebound goal from Jarred Regis in the 86th minute, 1-1.
However, UP’s Shan Lorque’s close-range strike six minutes later during added time denied UST a twice to beat advantage.
In the game’s dying moments, team captain Kyler Escobar came down with an apparent thigh injury, limping off to the sidelines before the final whistle.
Despite the loss, the Golden Booters secured a Final Four spot after Ateneo’s setback earlier today, setting up a semifinals clash against the FEU Tamaraws, whom they will also face on Thursday, Jan. 29, at the same venue. F – Lorenzo Sebastian Amoroso
