It has been a long road for the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles to this year’s final, one that may have actually begun after they lost last year’s final against the University of the Philippines. They emerged as the best team in the regular season of Season 79 and were tested by a tricky University of Santo Tomas team in the semi-finals.
Coming into this game, only an experienced and perhaps equally-hungry Far Eastern University team stood in their way. Despite not losing to them in the eliminations, the Ateneans knew that anything could happen in the final and that previous battles were merely moot and academic.
Unlike last year’s heartache, this edition is one to savour for Ateneo. Star man Jarvey Gayoso delivered yet again, just as he had done throughout the season, with his decisive strike effectively handing the Blue Eagles the crown.
John Paul Merida’s men knew that playing FEU is never easy, and right from the start, the game proved to be a tense one. After fouling Carlo Liay in the first minute, Reymart Cubon reacted on the former’s apparent second motion. Fortunately for both players, the palpable tension did not escalate further as the resulting free kick taken by Julian Roxas was collected by RJ Joyel.
It was Ateneo’s lone moment in the first 20 minutes, as the first part of the opening half was dominated by the Tamaraws. A good number of players in their roster had played in the finals in previous years. Showing more composure with the ball, FEU relied on veterans Paolo Bugas, Val Jurao, and Nicolas Ferrer Jr. to lead the way for Vince Santos’ team.
Struggling to break down a tall and sturdy Ateneo backline, the Tamaraws tried to test their luck from range. Jurao and Saldivar both had decent attempts but none of those truly bothered Ateneo keeper AJ Arcilla.
Their best chance of breaking the deadlock came in the 21st minute through Audie Menzi. Caught off guard, the Ateneo defense didn’t mark the FEU defender’s run into the box. The Blue Eagles breathed a collective sigh of relief when the younger of the two Menzi brothers only managed to drift the ball across the face of goal.
It may have been a costly miss as from that point, the Ateneans slowly found their rhythm in the game. It all started with Liay’s perseverance on playing as the second striker behind Gayoso. His move in the 23rd minute broke down the FEU defense and allowed him to set up the former Ateneo High school standout, who had a clear view of goal. It looked like he was bound to score, but Joyel and the FEU defense stood firm to deny the Blue Eagles an early advantage.
The Tamaraws, for their part, tried to take advantage by sending a quick counter attack past a half-prepared Ateneo defense. It nearly worked after Bugas located Ferrer with a perfectly weighted through ball, but Arcilla was alert enough to quell the Tamaraws’ charge.
Escaping yet another dangerous moment, Ateneo gradually gathered momentum again in order to take a valuable lead come halftime. Two great opportunIties to break the deadlock were presented to the Blue Eagles. The first one, in the 36th minute, saw Gayoso’s dead ball strike hit the crossbar. Moments later, Roxas had a glorious chance wasted when his attempt from close range was cleared off the line. They were clearly knocking on the door and it was not long before they reaped the rewards.
Ateneo grabbed a much-deserved goal seven minutes before time when Gayoso telegraphed a back pass from Bugas. The Ateneo forward intercepted the pass right outside the box before forcing a save from Joyel. The ball then kindly fell back to the second year striker, who did better to beat the FEU goalkeeper and put the Blue Eagles in front.
A few half chances from both sides took place between the goal and halftime, but with no goalkeepers tested in that period, Ateneo went on to hold a slender halftime lead.
Unexpectedly, the Tamaraws had more possession in the second half, but even with that advantage, it was Ateneo who nearly scored the second goal. A speculative shot from Jordan Jarvis in the 50th minute just brushed the top side of the crossbar. An inch of two lower and it may well have been 2-0, and perhaps game over for FEU.
But it was not the case; the Tamaraws were still in it. In their pursuit of an equalizer, they settled for clever deliveries from their experienced wingers despite having a height disadvantage against the Ateneo defense. Cubon and Ferrer were notably close to providing a decisive touch, but neither managed to send in a good enough ball to beat the rookie keeper of Ateneo.
By committing more players on the attack, the Tamaraws left themselves a little more vulnerable on the counter attack. A decent chance from Ateneo came from such, as Liay’s header from Carlos Mathay was caught by Joyel in the 67th minute.
As time continued to wind down, FEU grew more desperate in their search to tie the match and at least send it to extra time. At the same time, Ateneo began to defend with more men as they looked to hold the fort for good. With FEU never harmless with the ball, it was a long 20 minutes for Ateneo. A Poe foul in the 88th minute just outside the box offered FEU the best chance to extend the match beyond the 90. Menzi, who had already scored from set pieces this season, took one quite disappointingly as he sent it straight to Arcilla.
There was a glorious chance missed by Gayoso in added time, but it was not one that will haunt him as his earlier effort was enough to give Ateneo their first title since Season 75.
