After his two-goal heroics against archrival De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University defender Jet Dela Cruz is eager for the Blue Eagles to build on this momentum as they advance in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Men’s Football Tournament.
Dela Cruz, now in his third playing year, scored in the 49th and 55th minutes. He led the Blue Eagles to their second straight win this season – a victory made even sweeter by the fact that it came at the expense of the Green Booters.
For Dela Cruz, scoring was all about being in the right place at the right time.
“Of course, it feels great. We’ve been working on it,” he said. “We thought that we’d be playing this game a bit earlier, so maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that we were able to prepare well for this match. I just want to thank my teammates as well as the coaches.
“We just followed the system, trusted each other, and I guess I was lucky that it was me who scored the two goals.”
Despite having two more years of eligibility, the Management Engineering student has decided that Season 87 will be his last as a Blue Eagle.
Unless he changes his mind, these will be his final months of competitive football.
While it’s always difficult for an athlete to hang up their boots, Dela Cruz is channeling this challenge into motivation. He promised to show more leadership, help Ateneo achieve more clean sheets, and hopefully score additional goals.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
“I still have two more years, but I actually won’t be proceeding with my last two. That’s why I want to make the most out of this last playing year so that hopefully I can inspire my other teammates as well,” he explained.
“Before the pandemic, we were the champions, and after that, we haven’t been able to meet the expectations we’ve set for ourselves. Obviously, this time around, we have new players, we have a new system, and hopefully, we can get the championship this year as a way to cap my career in football.”
Following two tough tests against Adamson University and La Salle, Ateneo will now face another top contender, Season 86 finalist Far Eastern University, this Sunday.
The last time both schools met was in last season’s Final Four, where the Tamaraws emerged victorious thanks to two late goals.
Dela Cruz is looking forward to the challenge.
“We always have a lot of respect for FEU, given that their players are very hardworking, technical, and gifted, and their coaches have a great system as well,” he said.
“We’ll be taking the next few days to prepare for this game, also keeping in mind what happened last season. We want to learn from our mistakes and, moving forward, get better from what we showed against La Salle.”
