Lyceum, St. Benilde snatch Ang Liga wins

MANILA, Philippines- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) teams Lyceum Philippines University (LPU) Pirates and College of Saint Benilde (CSB) Blazers each score wins at the Ang Liga pre-season tournament games held at the Moro Lorenzo field last July 5.

Coming off a dominating 9-nil win against Malayan Colleges Laguna, the NCAA football tournament title contenders CSB booters proved their supremacy in the field by blanking the hapless Don Bosco Gray Wolves, 5-0.

It was not a walk in the park for the Mandaluyong-based squad as the Benildean booters shifted their offense to full throttle upon the start of the first half.

The Gray Wolves’ defenders held their forts for a few minutes into the first half before succumbing to the stifling offense of their enemies as CSB’s Guadin Maasin locates the back of the net on the 24th minute to open the scoring frenzy for his squad, 1-0.

It did not take long before another goal was tallied for the Taft-based kickers as Roberto Orlandez finds an opening and sinks one in, giving his squad a comfortable 2-nil lead.

As halftime approached, all of the efforts of the Bosconians were diverted to their defense to try and stop the rampaging offense of the Blazers but went short as a subsequent goal by Maasin sneaks past the goalkeeper on the 44th minute.

Despite CSB’s 3-nil lead going into the second half, the booters of Don Bosco jumpstarted their offense to try and spark a comeback and cut the deficit posted by green shirts but their valiant efforts were wasted as substitute Martin Maro added two more goals on the 78th and 90th minute, respectively to seal the deal for the NCAA football powerhouse.

LPU sneaks past ADMU

Consequently, NCAA newbie LPU spoiled UAAP side Ateneo De Manila University’s (ADMU) winning streak by posting a sneaky 3-2 victory at the Blue Eagles’ home field.

The Katipunan-based kickers showed off their mastery of the field by controlling the pace of the game in the opening part of the first half.

Several minutes after, Atenean Mashu Yoshioka breaks the silence by striking the ricocheting ball off a corner on the 7th minute to take the early lead for the blue shirts, 1-0.

The two squads went at it in the remaining part of the first half, both trying to score and have the edge over the other but no goals were dropped until the halftime mark.

The second half, however, was a different story as the Intramuros-based Pirates rejuvenated their offense to totally assert their football skills as a barrage of attacks came from the visiting squad.

At the midst of the bombardment by the Pirates, striker Jusua Ucang leaves his defender and notches a goal on the 60th minute to tie the game at 1-1.

The Blue Eagles’ retaliates with a flurry of attacks on the side of their opponents but the resilient LPU defense proved to be too much for their assaults.

On the 82nd minute, Lycean midfielder Dennis Maglinas heads a striking cross from their left wing to take the lead for the underdogs of the NCAA, 2-1.

Another goal dropped from Lyceum as James Dorego cops a breakaway goal from just inside the box to put the nail in the ADMU coffin, 3-1.

Both squads did not rest their games up until the last minute of regulation as an attack from the Atenean side resulted into a automatic penalty kick due to a hand ball by one of the LPU defenders from inside the box.

Blue booters’ captain Michael Mabanag sends the penalty to the far side of the goal to cut down the LPU’s lead before the match ends, 3-2.

Meanwhile, the games at the Malayan Colleges Laguna football field resulted into back-to-back victories for National University teams A and B as both squads defeated the rivals Emilio Aguinaldo College, 2-1, and the home team, 3-1, respectively.

On the other hand, the Sunday games of the pre-season tournament was cancelled because of the unplayable condition of the San Beda College field- one of the three fields where Ang Liga hosts its games. – Rapper.com