By Joshua Kyle Beltran

With their Final appearance now on pause, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraw Booters are forced to recalibrate after faltering against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Booters, 1-2, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 semifinals earlier today, February 8, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila. 

Evidently in control of the game’s pacing, FEU mostly found themselves upfront in which they capitalized for higher chances of goals.

Sure enough, Selwyn Mamon struck down the left-hand side netting by the 28-minute mark to claim their first point, 1-0. 

In the 35th minute, it was not long until UST team captain Kyler Escobar had an open look, but was fortunately halted with a Karl Absalon slide tackle.

Hoping to up the scoreboard to two-nil, Theo Libarnes had a near-goal attempt just before the half time break, but ultimately hit the right post.

By the second half, the Morayta-based squad was immediately caught off guard as Tiger Archie Belluga equalized at the 54-minute mark.

Unfortunately, pressure continued to get the best of the Tamaraws as they failed to stop Golden Booter Escobar’s redemption shot in the 78th minute, 1-2. 

Now in a race against the clock, the green-and-gold squad were doing all they could to halt the Finals-hungry España booters from scoring further, but their attempts ultimately proved futile.

In a post-game interview, Tamaraw Booters head coach Jake Morallo admitted the need to fix becoming lax too quickly.

“Sa early first half, sa second half, nawala ‘yung concentration sa team, we were relaxed. Siguro, doon nangyari ‘yung chances ng UST… Something na kailangan namin i-fix (The team lost concentration, we were lax. This is what UST capitalized on. It is something we need to fix),” he stressed.

Not dwelling on the loss, Morallo emphasized how they will continue to play at full capacity in preparation for their rematch against the España-based booters.

“We will play [a] hundred percent. We have to change a bit ‘yung game plan namin, tingnan natin sino magiging starting 11 natin, and then paghahandaan namin sila (We have to change our game plan, who will be the starting lineup, and then we will prepare ourselves),” he said. 

Placing the loss behind them, the Morayta-based team looks to strike back against UST in their do-or-die showdown on Friday, February 13, at the same venue.

(Photo by Ma. Louela Luna/FEU Advocate)