University of the Philippines’ quest to win another championship has to wait another year after an anticlimactic end to its campaign in the UAAP Season 85 Women’s Football Tournament.
The Fighting Maroons fell to defending champion De La Salle University 1-0 in the playoff for the last finals spot, and their championship drought was extended to seven years.
“I know we did our best all season pa rin,” said UP defender Kaitlyn Dabalos.
“One thing I have to admit, we always wanted better considering we landed in second place in the PFF Women’s League next to FEU.”
By all accounts, UP still had a successful season. The Fighting Maroons finished in fourth place back in Season 81 with only nine points coming from two wins, three draws, and three defeats.
This time around, State U earned a bronze medal for all their efforts this season as they managed to get 14 points on the back of four wins, two draws, and two defeats.
However, their success this season was not the one they envisioned when they first returned to action after three years.
“We were hoping to at least reach the finals once again. I can’t blame my team. I know we still tried our best naman. We can only go forward from here even if (we finished in) third place,” said Dabalos.
“For this season, I think we really fought hard.
“We really wanted to be there to represent UP in the UAAP for this tournament. Since coming from PFF Women’s League, we really had a good head start. We were really wanting it from the start,” said forward Alyssa Ube.
The Fighting Maroons are yet to reach another final since winning the crown back in Season 78. They will be interested observers while FEU and La Salle compete for the gold this Sunday.
The preparation for Season 86 has already started, though, and UP will use this setback to at least go one better next time.
“The effort has always been there, but in terms of really playing football, attacking-wise—the ability to keep the ball, to move the ball around—that’s one area where we really need to improve looking forward to next season,” said UP coach Anto Gonzales.
