By Vince Matthew Jaramilla

As another loss threatened their record, Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraw Booter Theo Libarnes struck a goal at the very last minute against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 1-1, to conclude round one of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men's football tourney earlier today, October 20, at the UP Diliman Football Pitch in Quezon City.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, the homegrown rookie emphasized the Tamaraw mindset of never giving up.

"Nakita ko po sa mga teammate ko, 'di talaga sila naggi-give up. Wala pang final whistle, so kami, kayod lang talaga… Hindi na bago 'yun sa FEU—'yung FEU way na hindi talaga sumusuko hanggang matapos 'yung laro (I saw that my teammates were not giving up. The final whistle was yet to be blown, so we just continued to work. That's not new for FEU—the FEU way of never giving up as long as the game is not yet over)," he said.

Just in the first two minutes, UP threatened FEU's goal with a free and a corner kick. Fortunately, green-and-gold goalie Jet Fabrigas ended both plays.

The following minutes played the same story as the Diliman strikers were constantly blown by the Morayta-based defenders.

Eventually, the Tamaraw Booters' defensive lapses piled up, resulting in an early goal by Maroon Joseph Garces in the ninth minute.

Along with UP's aggression, their compact positioning to protect their goal brought trouble to FEU's forwards.

The green-and-gold squad's best look of the first half came at the 31-minute mark, as Libarnes was left alone against the maroon goalie Jose Gonzales. However, his strike went wide, leading to a scoreless first half.

Off halftime, the Tamaraw Booters increased their physicality and aggression, already launching a push in the 46th minute.

The Morayta squad's offense produced several more plays, but their shots were either denied or missed. 

FEU head coach Roman Oliver tried to switch things up by subbing in midfielders Mc Jay Neniel and Khent Valenzuela for Karl Absalon and Al Galario, but struggles still riddled the green-and-gold squad.

The heat and physicality between both teams continued to rise and another loss in their record threatened FEU. 

In an unexpected twist, however, a scramble upfront UP's goal ensued at the last minute after Gonzales blocked a strike. This left an open target for Libarnes to score just before the final whistle, causing a tied finish.

As they evaded a loss, Coach Roman expressed the victorious feeling the team received.

"When you get one point in the last minute, it feels like a victory… Everything was against us. To get one [at] the last minute feels very good, so we are happy about it," he stated.

Oliver also mentioned their aim to improve after an unexceptional first round run.

"If we see the whole picture, 50 percent of [our] matches are win[s] and we need to improve that. We have to win every single match to be ready for a hypothetical Final Four. Our target is to be there and we have a lot to improve for the second round," he added.

The Tamaraw Booters ended their first elimination round campaign with a 3-1-2 win-draw-loss record. Meanwhile, the second round schedule is yet to be officially announced as of writing.

(Photo by Karch Rafael/FEU Advocate)