Reporting note: this article draws on tiebreakertimes.com.ph; Score808 Live provides the summary and editorial framing.
Ateneo de Manila University drew 1-1 with University of Santo Tomas in UAAP Season 89 Collegiate Women's Football on Wednesday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium. Rae Tolentino scored the equalizer in the 44th minute. The Ateneo UST draw leaves the Blue Eagles in fourth place with 10 points and two elimination-round matches remaining.
UST led from the 11th minute and held that lead for 33 minutes of the first half. Ateneo's reply arrived before the break. Neither team scored after it, and the point split keeps the Blue Eagles five points clear of UST in the race for the last Final Four slot.
Ateneo UST draw holds fourth place at 10 points
Ateneo sits on 10 points with two matches left in the elimination round. UST trails by five. To overtake, UST must win its remaining fixtures and Ateneo must fail to collect another point.
The same result confirmed University of the Philippines' place in the Final Four. Ateneo's point, earned at the venue it returns to on Saturday, settled a third team's qualification before Ateneo's own is secure.
The cushion is the story. Ateneo does not need to beat league-leading Far Eastern University to stay ahead of UST; it needs one result from two matches, or a UST slip.
Four events that shaped the 1-1 result
- 11th minute, UST goal. Joyce Gemberva finished a cross from Princess Amilhamja to put the Lady Booters ahead.
- First half, Ateneo attempt. Jada Bicierro shot from inside the Ateneo attack; UST goalkeeper Lizlie Garcia saved.
- 44th minute, Ateneo equalizer. Tolentino converted from a free kick to level the match at 1-1.
- Late second half, UST chance. Stephanie Logastua shot for a winner; the ball went over the crossbar and the match ended level.
Read as a sequence, the match turned on two set-piece moments and one missed target. UST scored from a delivered cross, Ateneo answered from a dead ball, and UST's last clear opening cleared the frame rather than the goalkeeper.
Bob Manlulo says the game plan did not hold
"Well, unfortunately, the team didn't play the game plan," head coach Bob Manlulo said.
Manlulo framed the point as survival rather than progress. "Hopes are still alive because we drew a game, so we still have two more games to go," he said. "At least we can win one game to at least to have a spot in the Final Four."
The coach's arithmetic matches the table. One win in two matches removes the dependence on UST's results. Two defeats leave Ateneo exposed to a UST side that would then control its own path.
Saturday fixtures at UP Diliman Football Stadium
Ateneo faces league-leading Far Eastern University at 2:30 PM. UST plays National University at 7:00 PM. Both matches stay at the same venue, four days after the draw.
For Ateneo, the FEU fixture is the harder of the two on paper and the one that could settle the race early. For UST, the equation is narrower: win, then wait on a result in Manila that it cannot influence.
The original report was published by tiebreakertimes.com.ph.
