FAR Eastern University (FEU) starts its quest for three peat against University of the Philippines (UP) in the opening day of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 78 football tournament on Sunday at the McKinley Hills Stadium.
FEU and UP kick-off the football season at 1:30 p.m., followed by the battle of Ateneo and De La Salle women’s and men’s booters at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively.
After a successful domination in men’s, women’s and junior’s for the last two seasons, the Morayta-based male booters try to jump-start their triple-treble campaign against perennial contender Fighting Maroons, who are seeking a payback after being eliminated by FEU in the Final Four last Season 77.
The season will be tough for the Tamaraws, who lost key player JanJan Melliza due to graduation and also star midfielder Arnel “Nano” Amita, who might be out the season after suffering a right ACL and lateral meniscus during their training.
Amita’s teammate, Paolo Bugas, a former UAAP Most Valuable Player, still believes that he and his teammates, led by skipper Eric Giganto, are willing to fill in the big loss.
“Nano [Amita] is a big factor on our team,” Bugas told the BusinessMirror. “One of the best players of the team but it doesn’t mean that we will lose hope. We have players who could replace his position and do the same job as what Nano has been doing. So we need adjustments and, hopefully, to win games.”
UP, on the other hand, starts its post-Inggoy Valmayor era, and Head Coach Anto Gonzales said the team is ready to field their new guns bannered by 2015 Southeast Asian Games U-23 standout, Ian Clarino.