Ateneo Men's Football Game 8: The End of the Road

The End

Ateneo 0 vs. UST 3

by rick olivares

In one of his many conversations with his father, Gabriel Siojo would wonder how much more to give of himself to the team. They were in dire straits. They’ve only won two matches thus far and would be the beneficiary of the forfeited points of UP. But the fact of the matter is, the team has only beaten one of the top tier teams – FEU – and that was during opening day. The team lost both its outings to De La Salle that was rapidly gaining ground on them and even had a shot at the second finals slot depending on how they manage their remaining schedule.

Siojo’s father, who is a college professor in the Ateneo as well advised his son, “You can only give so much of yourself. At the end of the day, the others need to give something too.”

Sometime before noon of Sunday during match day against front-running UST, Siojo skipped lunch with the family to be with his team.

Barely a minute into the game, Ateneo launched into it’s first offensive into UST territory. A few yards from the midfield line, Nicanor Palacio stole right back Jacobo Lorenzo’s pass. And just like that UST kicked in the afterburners and had the Ateneans on their heels. In the 8^th minute, the Tigers’ Christian De Juan had his fifth goal in eight matches.

All season long, the only time Ateneo went ahead in a game was in its very first outing – against FEU courtesy of a penalty shot by Siojo. After that, they were always behind. The team’s lone legitimate threat in Gerard Cancio has found it increasingly difficult to score goals as he has oft been a marked man. Dating back to last season, he has manufactured (being the appropriate term) only two goals.

Ateneo’s back four has been abused all season long by happy hunting strikers. Where UST gained more pace and confidence in their game with their goal, Ateneo been able to break UST’s midfield defense labored to even get a good shot on goal.

Halftime has always been a welcome respite for the Blue Booters in seasons past. They always turned their own jets on in the final 45 minutes of play. They always made the necessary adjustments and executed them to perfection.

It recent years, with the departure and loss of veteran players, it has been harder for the team to mount serious attacks. And the start of the second half showed a team that was full of fight yet with their bodies unable to make the plays. “Tara, Ateneo! Wala nang oras!” urged Siojo above the din of drums, cheers, and expletives.

But UST forward Mark Clarino, whose speed, footwork, and heft would remind one of Cancio, had been terrorizing Ateneo all game long. In a series of attacks where he would beat his defenders easily with a feint or quick turn rushed through a gap and blasted home a second goal at the 68^th minute.

Although the second goal made it pretty much over, the Ateneans still attacked and tried. It was a much better showing from their disappearing act against La Salle. But it still wasn’t enough. Tiger midfielder Mandie Lunag put Ateneo out of its misery with a header at the 72^nd minute; an unassailable goal that put the game at 3-nil beyond reach and ended their championship aspirations.

In the game against La Salle, the team sat shell-shocked. This time, save for some like midfielder Anton Amistoso who fought hard but had been unable to do much, most sat around. They knew it just wasn’t their year. And with FEU and UE left on the sked, they best that they could do was hope for a strong finish.

Not many words were said. After all, what else was there to say?

TEAM	TOTAL	GAMES	WIN	DRAW	LOSS	GOAL	GOAL	GOAL
	POINTS	PLAYED				FOR	AG'ST	DIFF.
1. U S T	20	8	6	2		14	5	9
2. F E U	16	8	5	1	2	12	8	4
3. U P	11	8	3	2	3	9	7	2
4. D L S U	10	8	3	1	4	4	8	-4
5. A D M U	7	8	2	1	5	5	12	-7
6. U E	4	8	1	1	6	9	13	-4