FAR EASTERN University-Diliman nailed one crown down to kick off the school’s bid for another incredible three-division sweep in UAAP football.
Bannered by season MVP Kieth Absalon, the Baby Tamaraws blasted Ateneo, 6-1, to cap a seven-game sweep and bag their sixth straight juniors football championship over the weekend at Moro Lorenzo Field in Loyola Heights.
The perfect run set off FEU’s campaign to rule all divisions for the third straight season with action in the men’s and women’s categories starting this week.
Chester Gio Pabualan—who struck in the 20th minute to give the Baby Tams a 3-1 cushion—also bagged the Best Striker and Best Midfielder honors.
Also scoring for FEU were Christian Bacara (5th), Darryl Aban (12th), Absalon (75th), John Villaseñor (85th) and Josh Abundo (89th).
FEU’s Roberto Ripol won Rookie of the Year and Best Defender citations, while Ateneo’s Gavin Rosario was the Best Goalkeeper and De La Salle Zobel took the Fair Play Award.
In juniors basketball, National University jumped straight to the Finals after completing a 14-0 sweep of the elimination round.
Justine Baltazar posted a double-double of 18 points and 18 rebounds as the Bullpups dumped DLSZ, 80-57, over the weekend at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The sweep also rewarded the Bullpups with a thrice-to-beat advantage, which is equivalent to a 1-0 lead in a best-of-five series.
The Junior Archers settled for second with an 11-3 record ahead of the step-ladder duels.
Defending champion Ateneo secured third spot with a 10-4 card after routing FEU-Diliman, 78-53. The Blue Eaglets will clash with No. 4 Baby Tams (8-6) again at the start of the stepladder semifinals at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.