Alfonso Gonzalez was the hero as University of the Philippines staved off Adamson University 3-2 to end the first round on a high note in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Football Tournament Sunday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
Gonzalez, who came on in the second half due to an injury to the starting goalkeeper Ryan Tiambeng, performed a fantastic save against Adamson substitute Carl Mahinay in stoppage time to seal the win for the Fighting Maroons.
It was the perfect intervention from the 19-year-old rookie from Brent International School in Manila.
“As soon as I found out that our first keeper Ryan got injured, I felt like I needed to bring the team back together, to focus and to stay organized because I heard it was a really bad injury,” said Gonzalez.
“I told everyone to dedicate this game and finish it off with a win for Ryan,” he added.
The Fighting Maroons were all set to enjoy a comfortable victory when they earned a three-goal cushion by halftime.
Ramil Bation III scored a brace in the 11th and 34th minutes of the match to extend his tally to five goals this season while Francis Tacardon compounded the Soaring Falcons’ woes in the 37th minute.
However, UP struggled to control the second half well.
Adamson captain Arjay Buenaobra pulled a goal back for Adamson in the 55th minute as Tiambeng failed to catch the ball well and suffered a bad landing that forced Gonzalez to replace him.
Lorent John Jayaon then brought the Soaring Falcons closer with a goal in the 68th minute and Adamson looked almost certain to snatch a point by the end of the match when UP defender Charles Lobitaña brought down Dexter Jhon Casing in the box.
Up stepped Gonzalez, who executed one of the stops of the season to earn UP all three points.
The Fighting Maroons rose to second place in the standings with 12 points and a plus-2 goal difference behind four wins and two defeats.
For coach Popoy Clarino, this win was dedicated to Mona Adviento-Maghanoy, who served as the Acting Chairperson for the UP Varsity Sports Program.
“We wanted to really dedicate this game to our varsity sports program chair ma’am Mona Advento who suddenly passed away,” said Clarino. “It was so sudden. She was very relevant to the sports program. She helped everyone a lot, including players and coaches.”
On the other hand, Adamson remained at the bottom of the standings at the end of the first round with two points and minus-7 goal difference.
UP XI: Tiambeng (GK), Lobitaña, Tobias (C), Caraig, Pagdanganan, Tacardon, Galsim, Lampayan, Bode, Antonio, Bation III.
Adamson XI: Dudley-Scales (C), Buenaobra, Jayaoan, Arañas, Empleo Jr, Napili, Francisco, Ricario, Casing, Doctora, Banagodos.
