The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons’ 1-0 win against the National University Bulldogs last Sunday was their fourth UAAP Season 78 Men’s Football Tournament second-round fixture in just eleven days. Daniel Gadia scored the lone goal via his 77th minute penalty in what was also the Fighting Maroons’ penultimate fixture in the elimination round.
“Sobrang nakakapagod yung game dahil for the past two weeks, sunod-sunod yung mga games namin. Thursday, Sunday tapos Thursday again. Mas advantage sa amin yung rest kasi nga sunod-sunod yung games namin eh. Mas mapaghahandaan namin yung last game namin against FEU,” UP goalkeeper Ace Villanueva said, as he cited burn out and fatigue. From the NU game, UP has an eleven day break before they play the Far Eastern University on Thursday, April 21.
It has been a transitional campaign for UP, as they have recruited plenty of young blood to their ranks to replace some of their former starters, one of whom was striker Jinggoy Valmayor. Despite the fact that the Fighting Maroons are in transition, they currently sit on top of the league with 27 points. One of the reasons why UP leads the league is that Villanueva, despite having sat out a few games, has been on fine form this season.
“Sobrang solid ng back four ko. Nagpapasalamat ako sa backline ko, sobrang solid. Laking tulong sa akin. Saluhan lang kami sa likod,”shared Villanueva. With goalscoring a recurring issue for UP, perhaps it’s their strength at the back which helped them get this high at the standings. He then added, “Masasabi kong mas-defensive ang style of play ni coach Anto (Gonzales) ngayon. May kaunting changes pero mas nakikita kong nagiging solid yung defense namin itong mga season na dumadating.”
Perhaps it is a huge credit to the coaches and players of UP that they have somewhat prospered even if Valmayor has graduated. Villanueva admitted simply that Valmayor was a big loss this season. “Nung first round medyo nag-struggle kami sa attacking third pero nung nakita ni Coach Anto yung problem, binigyan kami ng exercises ng finishing. More on finishing kasi established naman yung backline namin so nag-focus kami sa finishing namin and then yan nakikita naman natin yung results sa second round. Mas nakakascore na kami.”
In the end, UP has already gained a lot of success in the post-Valmayor era. Sure, there may still be growing pains, but the fact that the Fighting Maroons can still compete without Valmayor bodes well for the future. Villanueva said, “Masasabi kong achievement siya kasi ang laki talagang kawalan si Jinggoy eh. Siya talaga yung shotgun shooter namin sa taas nung previous seasons eh.”
With the FEU game their last fixture of the eliminations, it could be said that UP has confirmed their place in the Final Four. It should come as no surprise then that Villanueva is excited over that prospect. “Gusto namin maka-finish strong kami itong prelims para madala namin yung momentum through semis and hopefully finals.” As expected, he doesn’t really have any particular choice for whom to face. “Basta ready lang kami lagi kung sinoman pumasok sa Final Four, ready kami kung sinoman makalaban namin.”
Villanueva, who is in his fourth playing year, stated his plans to play a fifth year for UP. Needless to say, his UAAP career has been a roller-coaster ride. “Ups and downs like yan injury, playing time. Best moment para sa akin is yung semi-finals namin against FEU last season. Binuhos ko lahat nung game na yun eh. Unluckily, we lost. Worst moment, siiguro hindi ako focused sa game,” he explained.
At the end of the day, one can surmise that Villanueva has enjoyed an upward curve in his UAAP career for UP. It shouldn’t be too far-fetched to imagine him being called up to the Azkals with the tremendous tick in his game. Whether or not he’ll be able to do so is up to him.
