Southridge secures inside track to UAAP HS postseason

c/o UAAP Media Team

UAAP Season 87 High School Boys’ Football Tournament Standings

*FEU-D 25 points (+21)

*UST 22 points (+14)

*DLSZ 13 points (+1)

Southridge 10 points (-1)

Ateneo 9 points (-6)

Claret 0 points (-29)

*Final Four

Matches on Saturday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium

2 p.m. —CSQC vs DLSZ

4:30 p.m. — UST vs FEU

7 p.m. — ATENEO vs SRG

PAREF Southridge moved one step closer into entering the Final Four of the UAAP Season 87 Boys’ High School Football Tournament by leapfrogging Ateneo de Manila University on Saturday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.

Ahead of both schools’ crunch clash in the final elimination round matchday next Saturday, Southridge dismantled fellow guest team Claret School of Quezon City 3-0 while Ateneo suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of University of Santo Tomas.

Above the two schools chasing the last Final Four ticket are Far Eastern University-Diliman in first place with 25 points, UST in second place with 22 points, and third-placed De La Salle Zobel with 13 points.

“Yes, it's all about the homework and the training that we did before this match or toward this match,” said Ghanaian mentor Sam Booney after his Admirals leapt to fourth in the standings with 10 points with the Blue Eagles narrowly behind them with nine points in fifth place.

“We knew they would come up with a back five and we prepared for it. We trained very hard for all the goals that we scored. Everything we did in training showed up in the game.”

Clinical in front of the goal, Kale Javier’s two-goal performance set Southridge on its way to a 3-0 victory at the expense of the Red Roosters.

The 16-year-old striker latched on teammate Francis Poticano’s assist in the 31st minute and sealed the deal with a cool finish in the 62nd minute. Poticano then wrapped up the rout in the 68th minute to increase his tally to five goals this season.

Behind this win and Ateneo’s loss to UST, Southridge just needs a draw to make it to the Final Four next week.

“We’re playing Ateneo and the objective is to win. There will be a different strategy for Ateneo because we just need a draw to get into the Final Four. We have to do whatever it takes to get there. Whether it is a win or it's a draw—we have to do it. We can't afford to lose the game. That's it,” said Bonney.

The Admirals’ victory completed the perfect afternoon for them as the Junior Golden Booters bucked a slow start to prevail 3-1 at the Blue Eagles’ expense during the day’s early kickoff.

Andres Dumlao’s opener for Ateneo in the 31st minute proved to be a false dawn as Joshua Balliner equalized for UST in the 38th minute to ensure that both squads entered the break level.

Come the second half, Jessy Ramasola gave the Junior Golden Booters their first taste of the lead with an excellent finish inside the Blue Eagles’ box. UST then wrapped up the victory through John Mark Visitacion’s penalty kick in the 83rd minute.

For UST assistant coach David Basa, this performance is a good development ahead of the team’s rematch against Far Eastern University-Diliman next week as well as with the Final Four on the horizon.

“Siyempre gusto namin makabawi (sa FEU-D) pero iniisip namin ung pinaka-importante, which is (the) semi-finals,” said Basa. “Maganda siyempre kung manalo pero kailangan namin maging mautak when it comes to next game.”

Meanwhile, Jacob Keleghan and Jerriemy Biton combined to power FEU-D to a 2-0 win past DLSZ.

Keleghan broke the deadlock in the 51st minute while Biton put the ball at the back of the net again in the 74th minute from close range to extend his tally to nine goals this season.

“Surprised ako sa game ngayon kase kung pag-uusapan natin yung tactics side, hindi namin na-anticipate na mag-iiba silang way of playing nila sa formation (at) sa style,” said FEU-D coach Jake Morallo.

“Sa first (half) naalangan kami. Nahirapan kami because again nag co-compact na naman sila and, of course, they are very aggressive. Nahirapan kami makapwesto sa first half.”

Despite losing for the second straight game, the Junior Archers booked their place in the Final Four by virtue of the Junior Golden Booters’ win over the Blue Eagles.

In contrast, Claret will try to earn its first point of the season against La Salle next week in the final elimination round matchday.