Starting goalkeeper Kenneth John James has been dodging La Salle’s bullet strikes from every angle possible—except for Gelo Diamante’s half-volley in the 75th minute—proving to everyone that Ateneo has stepped up in defense despite being atrocious in that department this season.
James, after playing a hundred and ten minutes, could not hold on that long though, as his rookie legs failed him after valiantly punching out a daring free kick by Diamante’s younger brother Jed that could have sealed La Salle’s ticket to the finals.
After flying high for the save, James’ left leg landed awkwardly and got entangled in the net at the left side of the goal, injuring the rookie in the process.
Enter substitute Paolo Oracion, Ateneo’s more experienced yet seldom used goalkeeper, who had to play the last ten minutes of extra time, hoping to hold on a clean slate on goal for the remaining few minutes.
Tension arose when, at the 119th minute, La Salle Rigoberto Joseph kicked a straight strike to the goal but Oracion was right there to catch the ball as the final four match between the archrivals ended at a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes of football.
Settling the tie by penalty shootout, all of Ateneo’s five men netted their respective penalty kicks. La Salle, sinking four of its own, fielded their top midfielder Ricardo Montelibano as the final kicker to extend the shootout.
Just like how Oracion saved Joseph’s goal earlier, the former grabbed Montelibano’s straight strike like candy, as the Blue Eagles survived by a hairline, entering the finals of the UAAP men’s football tournament for the first time since 2013.
The Blue Eagles, who scored the opening goal at the 36th minute off a nifty strike Carlo Liay, held on defensively against La Salle’s more dominant offensive attack despite being the third worst team in the UAAP in defense.
While James was effective in goalkeeping, the Eagles’ backline defenders led by Xavier Alcuaz and Alfredo Mathay played splendid defense to dodge the attacks of La Salle’s celebrated forwards.
Ateneo will once again test their resilience for all the marbles as they battle neighboring University of the Philippines next Thursday in the one-game winner-takes-all finals at the Rizal Memorial Stadium at 3pm.
