The University of the Philippines Men’s Football Team (UP MFT) has claimed their ticket in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Football Tournament after dominating the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Booters last Sunday, Nov. 24, at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
But even with this milestone, head coach Popoy Clarino isn’t celebrating just yet. For the man at the helm, the journey to defend the crown is far from over.
“The players are motivated, they’re hungry. But of course, the job is not done. We still have a lot to learn, we still have to improve more on the team dynamics. And hopefully, we can achieve what we came here [for],” Clarino said in a post-game interview with Tinig ng Plaridel.
With a rookie-laden lineup, the defending champions’ rocky start to the season served as an early reality check of the weight of their title.
After losing against the Golden Booters and the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the first round, Clarino believes that every game is a challenge to elevate their performance.
“Our loss against UST during the first round, it was a setback. It was an eye-opener for us that we were defending champions but we still need to put on the work. We were fortunate that it happened during our first game, so we were able to adjust and right now we’re in a spot where we won,” he shared.
Similar to last season’s campaign where they lost twice in the opening round, UP strives to implement strategies to secure another second-round sweep.
So far, the team’s adjustments have come to fruition, with the Fighting Maroons winning their last five games, which included handling top-seeded Ateneo their first loss of the season.
With their recent matches, the veteran tactician showed he isn’t afraid to shuffle the deck, challenging all players to deliver, with the likes of rookies such as forward Franz Hervias and tenured goalkeeper Chevey Celeste taking their spots at the starting XI for the past couple of games.
Yet more than the team’s physical training and matches, the Maroons are also often seen off the pitch, spectating from the bleachers during match days where UP is not in the lineup as part of their pre-game preparations.
For Clarino, work must continue even beyond the playing field. He believes that studying their rivals from the sidelines is one way of understanding the game better and sharpening their instincts once the game starts.
Despite sitting on a red-hot five-game winning streak, Clarino reminds his players that there’s no place to relax as they inch toward the crown.
“What we always tell them [is] that we need to be carabaos. Put your feet [on] the ground and just do the work. Do the work because you will always be rewarded in the end,” he said.
The head coach’s mindset is echoed by his players and actions, with captain Macky Tobias sharing the same philosophy.
“Paa pa rin sa lupa. Trabaho lang talaga. And of course, since ‘yung schedule namin sobrang tight, so manage ng pahinga and then trabaho ulit,” Tobias commented regarding their last two matches of the second round.
As State U moved towards the end of the second round, Clarino reminded the players to always set higher standards in every match they face in order to reach their goal.
For UP MFT, the mission is clear: to continuously improve and ultimately, claim back-to-back titles within the same year, a first in UAAP history.
The Fighting Maroons are currently in the third spot of the standings with 22 points, trailing closely behind Far Eastern University (FEU) by a point and top-seeded Ateneo who has 24.
The Diliman-based squad will bolster their bid to take the first seed as they face the FEU Tamaraws today, Nov. 28, and the De La Salle University Green Booters on Dec. 1 to close out their second-round campaign.
