AFTER the first round of the UAAP football season, the UST Growling Booters and the Lady Booters struggled to compile wins in the highly-competitive field.
With a new head coach at the helm, the rebuilding Lady Booters showed so much promise after winning their first game emphatically last Jan. 17 at the Philsports football field, 3-0, over the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Blue Guards. Prized rookie Dorelyn Mendaza struck two goals in that game with veteran halfback/forward Julie Ann Gerona joining her.
But that proved to be the only game the Lady Booters (1 win- 2 draws- 1 loss), last year’s bridesmaids, could win in the first round as they found themselves behind defending champion De La Salle University (4-0-0) and Far Eastern University (2-1-1) in the standings.
FEU and University of the Philippines engaged them to scoreless draws last Jan. 22 and 28 at the Blue Eagles field. Three days later, those scoreless draws they usually win in the past dampened their confidence as they surrendered a 2-0 loss to their arch-rivals DLSU Lady Green Booters.
National team member Marielle Benitez and rookie Giana Yusi provided the offensive spark for the Taft-based booters, scoring in the 28th and 32nd minute of the game. Those were enough to keep the Lady Booters at bay, who fumbled in their offense against the tight defense put up by the defending champions.
Long-time assistant coach Jade Bejemino was promoted to the head coaching position in the off-season following the resignation of last season’s head coach Gil Talavera, who accepted another mentoring job in a non-UAAP school.
Bejemino inherited a team that had just lost its 1-2 offensive punch in last season’s second leading scorer in the league, Alelie Bonifacio, and national team member forward Joyce Landagan.
Bonifacio, who is now the team’s assistant coach, already played out her five-year eligibility while Landagan was dropped from the team due to academics.
Filling in for the spots of the prolific duo are Masbate’s Mendaza and Rosario Badiama, and former UST Intramurals’ Most Valuable Player Niña Nikka Ortiz.
Holdovers from last year’s team that almost won the crown are senior players Ginger Mae Loarca and Ruby Rose Martin together with former national training pool goalie Ma. Katherine de Villa, Ma. Regina Clariño, Gerona, April Russel Pineda and Ivy Javier, sophomores Patricia Perlas, Dioslia Natural, Diana Rose Redondo, Rona Desuyo, Olivia Malabanan and Josefina Villanueva.
With the adjustment period already over in the first round, Bejemino expects his team to find ways to barge into the winning column more often come second round.
“Nagma-mature pa lang ang laro ng mga bata. Kailangan lang maging consistent pero ang confidence nila, nabi-build-up na,” said the former Growling Booter, who is looking for a big turnaround in the second round.
Rookie-laden
Worse than the Lady Booters’ lackluster performance was the debacle of the once feared Growling Booters.
In the first round, UST failed to win a single game as it drew its first four games before losing to league leader ADMU Blue Guards, 2-0, last Feb. 1 at the Ateneo field.
Jason Constanilla scored on a covered deep-angled goal in the 21st minute before Ariston Bocalan put the game in the bag with his own goal in the 82nd minute.
The Growling Booters settled for a 1-all stand-off in their opening game against FEU. UST rookie Lord Jay Legpitan hit paydirt in the 54th minute, but Tamaraw Kristian Kirk Magbalon escaped with an equalizer in the 75th minute.
The España-based booters ran empty in scoreless draws against the defending champion University of the East and DLSU before settling for another 1-all draw to last year’s runner-up UP. Rookie Bryan Alvarez scored the initial goal for UST in the 63rd minute but the Maroon Booters quickly recovered on Ariel Zerrudo, Jr.’s goal two minutes later.
The Growling Booters are stuck at fourth with FEU with no win, four draws and a loss. The Blue Guards (3-2-0) are lording it over the field with UP (2-3-0) and UE (1-3-1) not far behind.
Growling Booters’ coach Marcelino Carpio went on a massive recruitment in the off-season, plucking five of his 11 rookies from the RP-Under 20 national team, which competed in several Asian Football Confederation Cup Qualifying Tournaments, the last one held in Jakarta, Indonesia last December. They were Legpitan, Meliton Pelayo, Ricardo Becite, Severino Floresta and Sorito Judal. Sophomores Joebert Bernarte and Armando Esteban also were part of the national team. The other green horns are Franco Borromeo, Bryan Alvarez, Joel Pontillas, Paulo Locsin, Johnson Lee, and Sean Alli.
The Growling Booters ended as runner-up in the Ang Liga Cup and narrowly missed the semifinals of the highly-competitive Globe Supercup prior to the UAAP season.
But even their stints in the national team and strong finishes in the off-season games could not turn the fortune of the Growling Booters as they grope for form in the UAAP, which they last dominated during the 2000 season.
The veterans Nelson Guillermo, Aljo Clarino, Angelito Aguas, Jr., goalie Kim Versales, Michael Almiñana, Thomas Liao, and Mark Beramende must put their acts together to bail the team out.
“What I have is a young team. Three-fourths of the team are either rookies or sophomores,” Carpio explained. “We need to win all our games in the next round to earn a crack at the title.” Alder T. Almo
