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MANILA, Philippines — University of the Philippines showcased superb attacking to eliminate University of Santo Tomas, 5-1, and clinch a fourth straight UAAP men’s football finals appearance on Thursday.
The Fighting Maroons set the tone and built an early 3-0 lead on goals from Fe Baya, Carlos Monfort and Jinggoy Valmayor in the first half of the match held at the FEU-Diliman turf.
Baya then repeated eight minutes into the second half before Gabe Mendoza sealed it for UP, which has a chance to regain the title after yielding it to Ateneo last season, in the 82nd.
But the Maroon Boosters will miss the service of the prolific scoring Valmayor in the finals opener after the national under-23 standout was sent off for headbutting Nicolar Palacio in the 70th minute.
“I’m disappointed,” UP coach Anto Gonzales said of Valmayor’s actions.
Jean Clariño scored the lone goal of Growling Tigers, who made it to the final Four despite having a relatively young and inexperienced roster.