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Xin Salanatin delivers heroics vs FEU-D to keep UST undefeated in UAAP Boys Football
By: Nicole Parallag
Xin Salanatin emerged as the hero for defending champion University of Santo Tomas, scoring a dramatic 90th-minute winner to complete a 2–1 comeback over last season’s final foil Far Eastern University-Diliman and keep the Junior Golden Booters unbeaten in the UAAP Season 88 High School Boys’ Football Tournament, Wednesday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
The Junior Golden Booters mirrored the heroics of their collegiate counterparts, overturning an early Baby Tamaraws lead just like the senior squad had done in last Sunday’s Final Four clash.
Joshua Balliner had earlier equalized in the 75th minute, setting the stage for Salanatin to deliver the decisive blow at the death.
Balliner and Salanatin’s strikes erased Jimuel Panganiban’s 18th-minute opener, leaving FEU-D to rue missed opportunities from Leowell Fabela and Jacob Keleghan.
“Nung first half, medyo slow yung start namin,” said UST assistant coach David Basa. “May binago lang kami sa formation, pero prinepare naman namin earlier, pero hindi lang nag-work agad, so nag-adjust kami sa second half. Then, yung subs, nung pumasok, nagbigay sila ng energy sa team. Yung subs nagbigay ng dalawang goals.
“Sa amin lang talaga makapuwesto kami sa table as top. Yun ang main focus ng team. Siguro lang, one factor din yung college nung Sunday, then kami ngayon, tas magtutuos na naman sila ng Friday. Puro FEU kami. Blessing din yung nakuha namin, yung two wins,” he added.
Meanwhile, PAREF Southridge opened the matchday by trouncing Claret School of Quezon City 2-0 to secure its first win of the season, while De La Salle Zobel narrowly defeated Adamson University 1-0 afterward for the Junior Green Booters’ second straight win.
With the results, the Junior Golden Booters stayed at the top of the table with 10 points while the Baby Tamaraws and the Junior Green Booters are knotted at nine points apiece with FEU-D ahead by a two-goal cushion.
The Blue Eagles (6), Southridge (4), the Red Roosters (3), and the Baby Falcons (2) are behind.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Francis Poticano starred for the Admirals, providing an assist and scoring a goal within two minutes in the second half to secure the win.
“He’s one of the boys to look out for in this season. He really stepped up in this game,” said Southridge coach Sam Bonney. “We are depending on him to give us something special this season because he proved himself last season. But the thing is, I think he also felt a little bit more pressure, so that’s why his game is not that consistent. I believe in him, and I know he would definitely step up his game.”
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
On the other hand, Geoffrey Marqueses struck in the 17th minute to give the Junior Green Booters an early lead, while goalkeeper Jacob Salavante preserved the clean sheet with key saves in the second half.
“For Geoffrey, I think for me, isa siya sa mga reliable na players namin mag-create ng goal dahil siya yung nag-create ng goal against Ateneo,” said La Salle coach Arvin Soliman. “For me, isa siya sa very dangerous in possession lalo na pag bibigyan mo (siya) ng space.
“We got the three points pero marami pa kami kailangang i-improve, especially sa second half na halos Adamson yung nag ko-kontrol ng bola. Again, we met the objective, so at least kahit papano nakuha namin tong araw na to,” Soliman added.
The post Xin Salanatin delivers heroics vs FEU-D to keep UST undefeated in UAAP Boys Football appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Adamson University returned to the UAAP Collegiate Women’s Volleyball Final Four for the first time in three seasons after a gutsy 25-20, 25-22, 25-23 win over Far Eastern University on Saturday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
The Lady Falcons closed the Season 88 elimination round with a 9-5 record, currently sitting in solo third place, with the rest of the top five teams still having games remaining.
Adamson last reached the semifinals in Season 85, where it went on to claim the bronze medal. However, an exodus of players forced the program into a two-season rebuild, during which it managed only a combined nine wins.
FEU, meanwhile, dropped to 7-6 at fifth place and now faces a must-win situation against Ateneo de Manila University on Wednesday. The Lady Tamaraws will also need favorable results from University of Santo Tomas’ final two games to keep their Final Four hopes alive.
The post Adamson seals UAAP Women’s Volleyball Final Four return, pushes FEU to the edge appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Far Eastern University clinched the top seed in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Tournament after a hard-fought 26-24, 22-25, 23-25, 25-9, 15-12 win over Adamson University on Saturday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
The Tamaraws improved to a 12-1 record, riding a four-game winning streak with one match left in the elimination round against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, a potential Final Four preview on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Although National University can still tie them at the top, FEU has already secured the No. 1 seed due to its four-set win over NU in the first round, compared to the Bulldogs’ five-set victory in the second round.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“Malaking bagay ‘yung ganitong five sets kasi nakikita namin ‘yung mga kulang ng bawat isa. Siguro, marami pang puwedeng maging adjustments, nakikita namin kung saan kami puwedeng mas mag-improve sa ginagawa namin,” said FEU head coach Eddieson Orcullo.
To secure the top seed heading into the Final Four, where they are also projected to face the fourth-ranked Blue Eagles, the Tamaraws had to survive a tough challenge from the Adamson Soaring Falcons.
Adamson took control of the match after winning the second and third sets through timely execution in crunch time, but FEU forced a decider after a dominant 25-9 fourth set that lasted just 18 minutes.
The Tamaraws raced to an 11-6 lead in the deciding frame, but Zyro Ornos sparked a 4-0 run for the Falcons to trim the deficit to just one, 10-11.
However, back-to-back errors by Richard Besorio and Ahmed Tahiluddin halted Adamson’s momentum, while Mikko Espartero sealed the win for FEU after two hours and 10 minutes.
Espartero led the Tamaraws with 22 points and 19 excellent receptions, while Dryx Saavedra added 17 points on 13 attacks, three blocks, and one ace.
Ariel Cacao orchestrated the offense with 33 excellent sets, as Lirick Mendoza and Amet Bituin also finished in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Besorio paced the Soaring Falcons with 17 points and 16 excellent receptions, while Ornos and Tahiluddin chipped in 12 points each.
Adamson finished with a 3-11 record, currently in eighth place, with the University of the Philippines (3-10) still having one game left in the season.
Despite the struggles, it was still an improvement for the Soaring Falcons, who only managed two wins last year.
The post FEU survives Adamson scare, secures top seed in UAAP Men’s Volleyball appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Adamson University made the right plays down the stretch to outlast the University of Santo Tomas, 27-25, 25-20, 26-24, and grab a share of third place in the tight UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Women’s Volleyball Tournament Final Four race on Saturday evening at Filoil Centre.
Similar to their first-round upset of the Golden Tigresses last March 7, the Lady Falcons once again leaned on the offensive firepower of Shaina Nitura and Nigerian wing spiker Frances Mordi to strengthen their postseason push with two games remaining in the elimination round.
The crucial victory lifted Adamson into a tie for third place with UST, as both teams hold identical 7-5 win-loss records, ahead of fellow Final Four contenders Far Eastern University (6-5) and the University of the Philippines (5-6). The Lady Falcons also hold the tiebreaker over the Golden Tigresses after sweeping both head-to-head meetings in the preliminaries.
Adamson looks to further strengthen its bid to end a two-year postseason drought when it faces UP this Wednesday, April 15, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Meanwhile, UST—playing without head coach Shaq delos Santos due to Cignal’s semifinal clash against Farm Fresh in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference—aims to revive its Final Four bid in a second-round matchup against UP on Sunday, April 19, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The post Adamson outlasts UST in tight four-set win, grabs share of third in UAAP Women’s Volleyball appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
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