For the second successive campaign, University of the Philippines earned a bronze medal, defeating University of Santo Tomas 3-0 last Saturday on its home pitch to seal third place in the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Football Tournament.
The Fighting Maroons banked on Aurea Reaso’s goals in the 45+4 and 83rd minutes to finish the job while Kamea Mangrobang set the tone earlier with a goal in the 14th minute.
Despite achieving a podium finish for back-to-back years, it was as if UP felt underwhelmed that it could not break through the recent FEU-DLSU dichotomy and reach the final for the first time since Season 78.
“I think good po siya kase noong past few years, first time ulit makakuha ng place yung sa women’s football. Pero we want to achieve more,” said Reaso, who has scored three goals this season.
“Siguro po yung nga setbacks po tulad ng injuries ng mga players and more on mentality po, more puso pa.”
Such has been the dominance this season of the Lady Tamaraws and the Lady Booters that the Fighting Maroons have looked a distant third from the two squads above them.
(C) Mia Montayre/UAAP Season 86 Media Team
It can even be argued that UP regressed this year, as its showing last season saw it earn 14 points, forcing a playoff against eventual finalist La Salle.
“Standings-wise, it’s not an improvement,” said coach Anto Gonzales. “We always know we can do better. It’s not something we can be very happy about. Then again, we still have one game left and we want to finish strong.”
This is the fifth straight season that UP will be an observer at the big dance. It has yet to win the championship since it upset La Salle 2-1 in the Season 78 final.
For now, it will face the Taft school yet again in what is essentially a friendly match between both sides.
Amid this off-season feel, the Fighting Maroons will aim to end their campaign on a high note to build some momentum for Season 87 – their hosting year.
“We still want to finish strong po kahit hindi na siya bearing. Pero we want to finish strong for next season para ready na rin po kami,” said Reaso.
