University of Santo Tomas exited the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Football Tournament in cruel fashion – losing 8-7 on penalties to University of the Philippines after the game finished 1-1 in extra time in both teams’ Final Four clash.
The game needed a total of 18 spot-kicks to determine the winner between the Golden Booters and Fighting Maroons. UST’s fate was sealed when Francis Jay Vercide’s penalty kick hit the crossbar during sudden death.
It was a heartbreaking end for the Golden Booters, who had dreamed of reaching their first final since Season 80. However, there were no regrets or blame for how it all ended.
“Overall, okay na okay naman sila,” said UST coach Marjo Allado. “Pinakita nila ang pagiging Thomasian athlete, ang puso pag naglalaro, at ang determinasyon na manalo. Ito ang inabot ng mga players. Natalo lang sa shoot-out, pero satisfied kami.
“Vercide, who missed the penalty, he’s only a rookie. Sabi ko sa kanya, you have four years to come back, and maganda naman ang samahan nila dito.
“So ang build-up ng team na ito, I think, is one of the contenders next season eh. Kahit sinong itapat na team dito, this is one of the contenders. Kasi alam mo naman sa UAAP, some of the players like doon sa UP or FEU and others ga-graduate na yan,” he added.
Down one-nil due to Francis Tacardon’s first-half opener, the Golden Booters came to life in the second half when TJ Garciano scored the equalizer in the 57th minute.
Despite scoring the equalizer, UST failed to turn the game around. It was UP that found a way through in the penalty shootout.
Goalkeeper Alfonso Gonzalez saved Andrew Gregg Ramos’ penalty, while defender Angelo Pagdanganan scored the winning spot-kick.
Nevertheless, it was one hell of a ride for the Golden Booters, who can look back on their campaign with pride.
(C) Nicks Hernandez/UAAP Season 86 Media Team
“Kinapos kami sa shootout, but I appreciate my teammates and coaches dahil di sila bumitaw hanggang sa dulo,” said Garciano. “Tsaka sa UST community, salamat. Thank you po. Minomotivate lang namin yung sarili namin, inspirasyon namin sa sarili namin yung coaches namin, yung mga families namin, tsaka yung mga sumusuporta sa amin.
“Tsaka sa Panginoon dahil Siya talaga nagbibigay sa amin ng inspirasyon. Sobrang husay ng goalkeeper namin, tsaka yung backline namin. Isipin niyo rookies lahat yun. Nagwo-work sila for the team. Kinapos lang talaga.”
The only thing UST could do now is to rest and reflect on a tough campaign. Being one penalty kick away from returning to the final after a six-year absence shows how deep their run was during this season.
There is still more to come from the Golden Booters, who seek to end a title drought sooner rather than later in the years ahead.
One of the heroes of UST during the Final Four clash and throughout Season 86, goalkeeper Jose Miguel Abada, wants his team to grow from this heartbreak and make it count moving forward.
(C) Nicks Hernandez/UAAP Season 86 Media Team
“Sa penalty shoot out, syempre sayang madami akong na-guess na tamang side pero kinapos talaga,” said Abada, who made multiple saves against the Fighting Maroons. “So I think para sa UP talaga ang laro. Syempre we really worked hard to be here in the semi-finals. Hopefully next year, the standings will be different na.
“We’re just a new like rookie team. Our motivation will be, since may experience na ang lahat, we will fight stronger and harder next year because we want that championship. Since Season 69, if I’m not mistaken, yun na yung last. So we really want to change the tides na parang UST na ito, time na ng UST.”
