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MANILA, Philippines – When the UP Fighting Maroons reclaimed the UAAP men’s football crown after six years, they made sure to remember those who helped their journey back to the top.
The Maroons paid tribute to two late players, Yoro Sangare and Rogie Maglinas, and a recently departed professor as they dethroned the FEU Tamaraws, 1-0, in the Season 86 finals on Thursday, May 16, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
UP head coach Popoy Clarino said part of their motivation heading into the playoffs was to honor their “fallen brothers.”
Sangare, still a member of the UP football squad last season, suddenly passed away in May last year, right before their Season 85 elimination-round match versus the Tamaraws.
Maglinas, meanwhile, passed away in 2016 due to cancer of the skeletal muscles.
The Maroons also paid tribute to Monaliza Adviento-Maghanoy, a beloved professor in the UP College of Human Kinetics who suddenly passed away at only 41 just last March.
Adviento-Maghanoy, the coach said, “really helped us a lot throughout the year.”
Francis Tacardon, named this season’s Most Valuable Player and Best Striker, said the Maroons’ “fighting spirit” kept them going after a disappointing fifth-place finish last season, as they also held on to their battlecry: “Para kay Yoro, Rogie, at sa bayan (For Yoro, Rogie, and the country).”
“I told them from the moment we started training, this team has the caliber to become champions,” said first-year coach Clarino. “I’ve been telling them that this is the same as the 2015-2016 team where we had lots of good rookies and very seasoned veterans.”
UP team captain Marc Tobias scored the winning goal at the 50th minute after he calmly converted a crucial penalty kick to lift UP to an upset win over the defending champions.
“It goes to show the UP fighting spirit… forget about last season and fight, keep working,” added Tacardon in a mix of English and Filipino.
The Tamaraws had hoped to complete a UAAP football treble for the second straight season after winning the women’s and juniors titles again this year.
“Kudos to FEU, they brought their A game,” said Clarino. “It wasn’t [an] easy game, we had to go [fight] tooth and nail just to get where we are right now.”
Second-half incidents
As soon as the referee blew the kick-off whistle, UP was extremely aggressive on both ends of the pitch and dominated possession to deny the defending champions in dictating the pace.
UP had an early chance to break the deadlock at the 29’ mark courtesy of an Orlan Togores free-kick as his right-footed shot near the penalty arc rocketed to the top right corner of the goal.
FEU goalkeeper Jetrick Fabrigas, however, produced an acrobatic save to prevent a set-piece goal.
Liam Lampayan’s header and Florenz Tacardon’s close-range shot in the 39th and 40th minute marks were also on target for UP, but their attempts lacked enough power to cause trouble for the goalie.
Thirteen minutes after registering the match’s first and only goal, UP had another chance at a penalty shot after second-half substitute Benjamin Palacio III was tackled by Fabrigas inside the penalty box.
But the referee denied the Maroons a second spot kick as he deemed it a clean play.
At the 68’ mark, another controversial non-call was made by the referee after he allowed FEU defender Viejay Frigillano to pull the shirt of Ramil Bation III, who was speeding away with the ball and heading towards the goal for a one-on-one scenario against the goalkeeper.
Despite two vital second-half incidents going against their favor, the Maroons kept the Tamaraws scoreless until the final whistle to win their first men’s football championship since 2018.
FEU defender Mel Baylon had the best last chance for the Tamaraws at the 88th minute, but his header unfortunately hit the top right corner of the goal frame. – Rappler.com
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