JOSES Amadu Azur and Ramil Bation III fired late goals to propel University of the Philippines past De La Salle University 2-0 in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Men’s Football Tournament on Sunday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
Both players, who came off the bench in the second half, put the ball at the back of the net in quick succession to break the Green Booters’ resolve.
Azur was the first to put his same on the scoresheet with a fine finish past La Salle goalkeeper Enrico Mangaoang in the 83rd minute while Bation sealed the victory for UP in the 84th minute.
“It was planned,” said Coach Popoy Clarino. “The way we were able to score the goals, we prepared that during our training. But their desire to score was one of the reasons they were able to get a goal for the team.”
The win allowed UP to end the first round by leapfrogging University of Santo Tomas to third place in the standings with 10 points.
But UP trails Far Eastern University, which took second place behind first round topnotcher Ateneo due to superior goal difference.
“It’s nice to end the first round full of confidence heading into the second round,” said Clarino. “We’re expecting the second round to be more fiery kasi all teams just a couple of points from each other.”
On the other hand, La Salle ended the first round in fifth place with seven points and a minus-4 GD.
The Green Booters looked like they could earn a draw thanks to Mangaoang’s heroics.
The junior stopper out of De La Salle Zobel denied Fighting Maroons captain Macky Tobias from the penalty spot and performed a point-blank stop against Bation’s header, only for La Salle to eventually lose steam and give in to UP.
