The DLSU Green and Lady Booters are looking to bounce back from their first round defeats at the hands of their Katipunan counterparts this February 3, 2013 at the Ateneo Football Field.
Erasing the stigma
The Green Booters lost against Ateneo in their last encounter. The Green-and-White XI wasted several goal attempts, leaving the door open for the Blue Booters to score a goal. With just 13 minutes to go, Ateneo’s Valentino Calvo scored the only goal of the match, dumbfounding Patrick Deyto and his teammates to put the Blue Booters ahead, 1-0.
The Green Booters has finally found the team’s rhythm through a five-game winning stretch. The team is eager to reverse La Salle’s defeat against Ateneo, which has yet to lose a game this season. Both teams already have a spot in the playoffs.
Aside from taking home bragging rights, one team stands the chance to enter the top two as the elimination round draws to a close. A win by La Salle will boost the booter’s bid for a twice-to-beat incentive while an Ateneo win could potentially destroy DLSU’s chances of landing at one of the two advantageous playoff seats.
Win or go home
Meanwhile, the Lady Booters stands at a critical phase. The team’s chances of winning the championship now lies with the team’s responsibility to bring home every possible win in DLSU’s next two games and the chances that other key teams would lose games.
After rising unbeaten in the first three games of the season, the Lady Eagles struggled to collect favorable outcomes in the team’s last four games. The Katipunan-based ladies only managed to gain a win, a draw and two losses as opposed to La Salle’s win and a draw in the second round.
In their last encounter, Ateneo vanquished La Salle, 2-0. A repeat of the score would destroy DLSU’s chances for good. Nonetheless, Lady Booters Captain Miel Ampil is confident of her team’s chances this weekend. She explained, “[With a win, we’ll be] proving ourselves that we do deserve to have that chance to enter the finals [which we’ll take] one game at a time.”
Rivalry day will begin on Sunday at 10 am; the Green Booters will fight the Blue Booters at the Moro Lorenzo Football Field while the Lady Booters-Lady Eagles game will start at 3 pm.
