FEU joins Ateneo, UP in UAAP football Final 4
Far Eastern University overwhelmed Adamson University, 5-1, to make a return Final Four stint after a one-year absence in the UAAP Season 79 men’s football tournament Thursday at the Moro Lorenzo Field.
Alex Rayos scored twice as the Tamaraws recovered after conceding a very early goal to become the third semifinalist.
Val Jurao and Rayos struck in the 66th and 67th minute to give FEU a 3-1 advantage.
Jurao then assisted Rayos’ second goal in the 71st minute, followed by a Justin Calamba strike 12 minutes later to put the match beyond recall.
With 22 points, FEU joined Ateneo and defending champion University of the Philippines in the Final Four, which is a one-match affair.
That leaves a three-cornered fight for the last semis berth, with University of Santo Tomas (17), National University (16) and La Salle (15) fighting for survival.
“To be honest, we weren’t looking at returning to the Final Four after this match. We were really working on, like I said from the start, on our system,” said Tamaraws coach Vince Santos.
With two matches left in the eliminations, FEU is hoping to address its flaws to get ready in the semis.
With 35 seconds gone by, the Falcons scored the fastest goal of the season when Ejike Ugwoke made a smart move on a Tamaraws’ clearance error.
FEU then leveled three minutes later with Michael Menzi finding the back of the net off a Paolo Bugas corner.
