University of the Philippines scored a 2-0 victory over University of Santo Tomas in the penultimate day of the regular season to secure the first finals seat in the 73rd University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s football tournament on Thursday at the Ateneo de Manila Football Fields.

Jay Eusebio (29″) and rookie Jinggoy Valmayor (58″) scored the goals for the Fighting Maroons, who now improve to 8-1-0 (25 pts.) for the season heading into their final match against De La Salle University on Sunday.

However, a scary moment early in the second half occured when Eusebio had to be rushed to the hospital after falling awkwardly to the ground in a chase for a highball. He was initially diagnosed with a broken collarbone and will definitely miss the rest of the tournament.

The loss by the Growling Tigers (5-2-2; 17 pts.) gave De La Salle University (4-4-1; 16 pts.), who won by a 2-nil scoreline against University of the East and give them a much-needed 3 points to close in within one point of the España strikers.

De La Salle now needs both a win against UP combined with either a draw or a loss by UST at the hands of Ateneo on Sunday to forge a Finals showdown against the Diliman booters.

In a non-bearing matchup, Far Eastern University blanked Ateneo de Manila University, 2-0, to round out the day’s matches.

Here’s a look at the day’s matchups, as seen through the lens of FCF’s Roehl Niño Bautista:

DLSU's Fedricco Abaya taps the ball past UE's keeper to increase their lead in the 2nd half. The Taft squad won, 2-0.

UP's Jinggoy Valmayor and UST's David Basa fight for the ball during the 1st half. Later in the 2nd half, Valmayor converts a free kick to a goal, bringing the Maroon Booters' score to 2.

You can check out the rest of the action and share your favorite shots from our gallery