UP eleven nips UST, keeps football title; UST snares women’s tennis crown

MANILA, Philippines — Southeast Asian Games veteran Jinggoy Valmayor provided the flash of inspiration as University of the Philippines nipped University of Santo Tomas, 1-0, Sunday to retain the UAAP men’s football title at the Ateneo high school field.

Valmayor, last year’s Rookie of the Year, tormented UST for the second straight year, finding the back of the net in the 61st minute off a through pass from Jay Eusebio to seal the Fighting Maroons’ third crown since 2008.

“We’re lucky to have such a very determined team,” said UP coach Anto Gonzales. “We struggled in the first round that led to problems within the team. But we stuck together and we improved as the season went on.”

The Fighting Maroons came through with a solid defensive stand all season, giving up just a single goal in 11 matches. It was no different in the final as UP forced UST on the backfoot for long periods.

It was UST’s third straight runner-up finish in football.

The loss turned out to be a double blow for UST as its women’s squad fell to La Salle, 3-4, in a penalty shutout, forcing a winner-take-all showdown for both squads on Sunday at the same venue.

UST found a saving grace in its women’s tennis squad, which overcame a twice-to-beat edge to capture the crown at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

National U also sent its baseball finals series with Ateneo to a deciding game after the Bulldogs prevailed, 5-2, in Game 2 at the Rizal Memorial ballpark.

Pitcher Aris Oruga starred for NU as he went the full route, stranding 14 men on base. Leading 4-2, NU proved solid in the eighth and ninth innings when Ateneo, which won Game 1, 11-4, loaded the bases but failed to score.