COLLEGE football debuts on live television as Season 76 of the UAAP kicks off on November 23 at the Far Eastern University-Diliman pitch.
Studio 23 will air the 3 p.m. match between FEU, last season’s third-placer, and National University, a first in Philippine college football.
A triple bill actually ushers in Season 76 football with the non-televised clashes between De La Salle and University of Santo Tomas at 10 a.m. and last season's runner-up University of the Philippines and University of the East at 1 p.m.
Defending champion Ateneo drew an opening-day bye and will face FEU at 3 p.m. on November 26.
Bannered by ace striker Jess Melliza, who scored a league-record 22 goals last season, the Tamaraws are one of the Blue Eagles' biggest threats this season.
Ateneo will try to retain the title with Season 75 Most Valuable Player and Best Goalkeeper Nick O’Donnell and midfielder Val Calvo out of the roster due to academics. The Blue Eagles will now count on veterans Yu Murayama, Mikko Mabanag, Jico Noel and Carlo Liay, last season's top rookie.
Also among the teams to watch are the UP Fighting Maroons, who dominated in the last few years thanks to the brillant efforts of national under-23 mainstay Jinggoy Valmayor.
The Green Archers and the Bulldogs are also expected to contend for the crown, while the Growling Tigers and the Red Warriors hope to spring surprises.
Also to be aired on Studio 23 are the UST-Ateneo match on November 29, UP-Ateneo clash on December 6, Ateneo-De La Salle game on December 13 and De La Salle-FEU showdown on December 23.
Women's action opens on November 24 with Ateneo facing UST at 1 p.m. and De La Salle battling UP at 3 p.m. Titleholder FEU, which drew a bye, opens its season against Ateneo on November 27 at 1 p.m.
spin
good news sana tuloy tuloy na ang pagsikat ng football sa colleges hindi puro basketball lng....
ReplyDeletegood news to! I hope Philippines will develop homegrown players and not rely on recycled players from abroad. It feels that they are coming to Philippines to revive their careers, which should not be the case. Although, there may be some really good fil-foreigners but the rest are really mediocre
ReplyDeleteAgree..
DeleteMost of them know the chances of playing for their home country is nil..
So they come up with reason like they love playing for the country etc..
Ask the answer this question honestly..
If thier country of birth call them up the same time with azkals..
Who will they choose to represent??
Remember back in the days when players like Dennis Cagara was asked to play for the azkals. Answer was NO. He didnt see himself as filipino, only danish, and he was still a good player back then and was one of the contenders to get a spot for the danish team.
DeleteAnd back then there was no Palami with a deep pocket, no fancy trips to the Philippines on business class, and no training camps here and there. Everything changes when there is some fame and more money involved, or else they would just say no.
Everything changed after the 2010 Suzuki Cup, where the azkals had a lucky run, even in the qualifiers they had their asses full of goldielocks. Laos totally dominated the game, and the azkals shouldve been 5-0 down at HT, but this is football, anything can happen.
After that, they gained popularity, and thats when they really started to get interesting players. Before a player like Chad Gould could show up and get playing time without having a team to play for back in England, now we can get Stephan Schrock who is a regular starter in the Bundesliga. There really is big contrasts.
Philippine football has a loooong way to go. We may be one of the best in the region, but lets be honest, thats all we have to show for. Philippine football = azkals.
Ethridge is not playing also..
DeleteY hestill get called up for peace cup??
When local-trained football players become as good as or better than available foreign-based Filipino football players, then national team will be composed more of loca--based players because it is a LOT cheaper for the team..........
ReplyDeleteKudos to ABS-CBN and UAAP for agreeing to show on TV the football matches of UAAP.......A big move for football. Sana tuloy-tuloy na pagyabong ng football............
ReplyDelete