FEU striker shows way in UAAP

MANILA, Philippines - Jesus Melliza of unbeaten Far Eastern U and Fitch Arboleda of University of the East led the way in scoring in the first round of the UAAP Season 76 men’s football hostilities with five goals apiece.

Melliza, the best striker awardee last season, matched Arboleda’s output when he fired the opening goal in FEU’s 3-1 triumph over La Salle last week. That win completed a sweep of the first round for the Tams who cemented their position atop the table with a perfect 18 points.

Arboleda, a former national U-19 side mainstay, was leading the scoring race before a hamstring injury sidelined him in the second half of the Warriors’ 0-1 loss to FEU and the entirety of their 1-2 loss to Santo Tomas.

Arboleda’s strong showing contributed largely to the turnaround this year of UE, which finished second behind FEU at the halfway point with 10 points on 3-1-2 win-draw-loss.

Melliza’s teammate Nicolas Ferrer and under-23 Azkals member Jinggoy Valmayor of former champion University of the Philippines fired four goals apiece in the initial phase of action.

Gelo Diamante of La Salle slammed the ball into the back of the net a total of three times, including the Archers’ lone goal in their loss to the Tams prior to the holiday break.

The Maroons and the Archers ranked third and fourth, respectively, with nine points apiece (3-0-3).

Over in the women’s division, Season 75 MVP and best striker Barbie Sobredo of defending champion FEU shared the lead in goals scored with three others.

Sobredo connected twice in the first round, a feat duplicated by fellow Lady Tam Ina Araneta, Jennizel Cabalan of Santo Tomas, and Maan Cadayona of pacesetting Ateneo.

The Lady Eagles held top spot with eight points (2-2-0), gaining from their 1-0 victory over the Lady Tams just before Christmas.

FEU trailed AdMU by one point as did the third-running Tigresses.