De La Salle and University of Santo Tomas will kick off the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Women’s Football Tournament on Saturday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium in Quezon City.
The match kicks off at 4 p.m.
La Salle enters the season with a mission to reclaim the title it last held in Season 81, having suffered back-to-back Final losses to Far Eastern University.
On the other hand, UST is in a rebuilding phase under the guidance of veteran mentor Marjo Allado, who replaced Aging Rubio.
(C) UAAP Season 86 Media Team
“The team is ready to start the season, and the depth of the bench is great,” DLSU Lady Booters head coach Alvin Ocampo remarked. “Our target is to reclaim the title. We may not be the best coaches, but we can always bring out the best in our players
“From the words of former Green Boooters captain Jed Diamante: ‘Why wait for tomorrow if you can start right this moment?’ It will also be a good test for us playing against a strong team led by Coach Marjo.”
(C) UAAP Season 86 Media Team
On the UST side, Allado shared his thoughts on UST’s season’s outlook: “We will continue to improve every day and make adjustments based on our last game in relation to our next opponent. We have a few veteran players who lack UAAP playing minutes, and now they are eager to play.
“In that way, we are building a good team because the mentality is that, in any given situation, all of them think the same way. Rookies and sophomores look up to senior players, and at the same time, seniors also rely on the young ones.”
The main event of the day will feature the Battle of Katipunan at 6:30 p.m. between last season’s third-placer University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University.
Both teams are eager to improve on their Season 86 performances.
The Fighting Maroons are aiming to return to the Final for the first time since Season 78, while the Blue Eagles are hungry for a podium finish, something they haven’t achieved since Season 79.
(C) UAAP Season 86 Media Team
“Even if we won against Ateneo in the pre-season, they’re a much better side this season, especially offensively, so we’re preparing for a tough challenge,” Fighting Maroons coach Anto Gonzales said.
“We’re in a rebuilding period since we only have 14 holdovers from last year’s team, plus nine rookies in this year’s UAAP lineup.”
(C) UAAP Season 86 Media Team
Blue Eagles head coach Bob Manlulo echoed the sentiment about his team’s readiness: “For this year, Ateneo will have a complete lineup for Season 87. Several key players are still going to play, plus we have new recruits who will feature this season. We’re aiming to improve on our previous performances and rankings from the past two seasons.”
Meanwhile, defending champions Lady Tamaraws, seeking a third consecutive championship, will begin their title defense next Saturday against Blue Eagles.
The Lady Tamaraws are looking to complete a second ‘three-peat’ in school history, having first achieved the feat with consecutive golds from Seasons 75 to 77.
