Ateneo trips UP for UAAP football crown

Jayson Costanilla was at the right place at the right time and scored at almost pointblank range as Ateneo nipped University of the Philippines (UP), 1-0, for the men’s football crown in the 66th University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Wednesday.

Costanilla, 22, an MA Communications student, turned Micky Ingles’s cross pass into the winning goal in the 79th minute, thus gifting Ateneo its third men’s football crown to go with those the Blue Eagles clinched in 1996 and 1998.

De La Salle matched Ateneo’s achievement at the Blue Eagles’ home turf in Katipunan as the Lady Archers edged Far Eastern University (FEU), also 1-0, to retain the women’s crown.

"I felt the ball was to go right inside the penalty box after Micky [Ingles] made that cross pass," said Costanilla, of Bacolod. "Perhaps I was at the right place at the right time, but such play was what we prepared and trained for."

The men’s football crown was Ateneo’s second this season after the Lady Eagles topped badminton.

Ingles’s cross actually materialized after Roger Lastimado made a through pass. There wasn’t much of a scramble after that Ingles setup that broke the hearts of the UP side, whose ace striker, Ariel Zarudo, the tournament Most Valuable Player, played a remarkable game only to be frustrated by that lone Ateneo marker.

Patrick Ozaeta bagged the men’s tournament Rookie of the Year honor for Ateneo, which played a calculated game the entire season. The Eagles were held to a 1-1 draw by the Maroons the first time they met in the eliminations, and in the second round, already guaranteed of the No. 1 spot and the twice-to-beat advantage, the Eagles yielded, 0-2.

Mariel Benitez scored the marginal goal, also inside the penalty box, for De La Salle in the 38th minute on her way to cornering the women’s MVP trophy. Another Lady Archer, Gia Yusi, ran away with the women’s top rookie honors.

Track and field also wrapped up last weekend with University of the East (UE) keeping the women’s crown and University of Santo Tomas maintaining second spot. The order of finish in women’s athletics was: FEU third, De La Salle fourth, Adamson fifth, Ateneo sixth and UP seventh.

The provisional result in men’s athletics resulted to a tie for first between UE and De La Salle. FEU ran third, followed by UST, UP, Adamson and then Ateneo.

Ateneo also pulled off a first in men’s athletics when Khole de la Cruz ruled decathlon, the first track and field gold medal by a Blue Eagle in the league.