The Far Eastern University eked out only one goal–a runaway header by ace forward Jesus Melliza in the 72nd minute–and despite 14 missed shots on goal, their superiority in teamwork, strategy, and spacing proved to be too much for the gritty yet disoriented Fighting Maroons from the University of the Philippines.
It only took a quick play for the Tamaraws to win their third University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s football title in Sunday’s Game 2 of the best-of-three Finals on their home turf in FEU Diliman, Quezon City, sweeping the Fighting Maroons, 1-0.
Midway through the second half, when Maroon goalkeeper Ace Villanueva seemed to be infallible in defending his goal with deflections and pre-emptive saves left and right, Melliza, receiving a short head pass from Angelou Jurao, goaled a ten-foot header from the left flank, right past the dreaded goalie.
However, it seemed to be a broken play, as the Jurao-Melliza connection was made possible when Chy Villasenor kicked a long ball from the right side of the halfcourt line, which landed on the right spot.
The long ball, a pass the Tamaraws eschewed all season long as they preferred a short and deliberate passes to build up their offense, proved to be the killer for the Tamaraws against the one-man defense of the five-time champions.
“I told my players that we should approach the game as champions. I asked them for 1,000 percent effort for today’s game. We cannot have one more match, we should finish the game as champions,” said FEU head coach Kim Chul Su, who is on his seventh year on the helm.
The Tamaraws had 15 shots on goal, with all of their missed shots created through short but precise passes. On the other hand, the Fighting Maroons afforded only two shots on goal, both of which went wide–a testament of the Tamaraws’ impenetrable midfield and backline defense and UP’s lack of offensive firepower, no thanks to Jinggoy Valmayor’s suspension brought about by a red card in the Final Four.
FEU on Thursday won game 1 of the Finals, 4-1, with three of their goals made in the extension period.
The Lady Tamaraws formed the other half of the sweep in the women’s division earlier in the day, beating University of Santo Tomas, 2-1, to repeat as champions and win their ninth title overall.
