Maroons gun for football crown

MANILA, Philippines –  Powerhouse University of the Philippines tries to regain the title it won two years ago when it battles University of Santo Tomas in the finals of 73rd University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s football today at the Ateneo field.

Armed with a twice-to-beat bonus, the Fighting Maroons, who tallied nine wins and a draw for a leading 28 points, go for an outright championship in their 2 p.m. tussle with the UST Tiger booters.

“We can’t afford to give them a chance to force a deciding game,” said UP mentor Frank Muescam, who will rely on striker Jinggoy Valmayor, Ayi Nii Aryee and Stephen Permanes, among others.

But UST, which earned the second final berth after a 6-2-2 win-loss-draw record for 20 points, is expected to do its best to force a sudden-death game with striker Mario Clarino and David Basa expected to lead the Tigers’ bid.

Tiger booters coach Marjo Allado said they must play with aggression to upset UP.

In the women’s finals, Far Eastern University and UST clash in a best-of-three finals series after they finished tied in the double elimination round with 16 points on 5-2-1 records. Game One is set at 9 a.m.

Far Eastern University, meanwhile, captured the junior’s title after sweeping its six-game assignment last week.