A day after his 24th birthday, Leo Maquiling stayed composed to lead Ateneo de Manila University to a 3-1 victory over University of the East in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Men’s Football Tournament on Sunday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
Maquiling, a Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu alum, converted two penalty kicks in the 18th and 41st minutes after the Blue Eagles initially fell behind early in the match.
“I’m happy that I finally scored this season,” said the BS Management student. “At least we won our last game in the first round. There are a lot of improvements to be made, but a goal is a goal. I’m happy I was able to score those goals.”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Ateneo’s lead widened just before halftime when a defensive mishap by the Red Warriors forced UE defender Mark Maghinay to accidentally put the ball into his own net in the 45+2 minute.
In the second half, the Red Warriors had chances to close the gap, but Blue Eagles goalkeeper Artuz Cezar denied headers from Jerome Abarca and Mark Joshua Sedeng.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
With an undefeated first round, Ateneo finished atop the standings with 18 points and a goal difference of plus-12.
“We’re happy that we won all of the games in the first round,” said Ateneo head coach JP Merida.
“But on the flip side, I’m not really satisfied with this performance because we started slow. The positive thing was we got two penalties and an own goal in the first half, but in the second half, we didn’t capitalize on our chances. We need to improve on that going into the second round,” he added.
UE ended round one in sixth place with seven points and a minus-5 goal difference.
