With the football frenzy sparked by the Philippine National Football team, the Azkals, Filipinos nowadays have grown awareness and interest on the world’s most popular sport. The sport’s overall popularity among the people has gone through the roof.
Nowadays, Rizal Memorial attracts thousands of spectators to football games—something that would not have been possible just a few years ago. Interest in watching football has even trickled down to UAAP games as evidenced by a growing number of UAAP football fans.
A few years before the sport’s nationwide emergence, the De La Salle University Lady Booters dominated the local football scene, playing with unparalleled dominance for most of the 2000’s. The Lady Booters won four straight UAAP championships from 2003 to 2006 with the team’s streak coming to an end because of La Salle’s suspension in the 2007 season due to ineligibility issues. In those years, La Salle vanquished FEU twice, UP and then FEU to mark a four-peat.
Moreover, the Lady Booters accomplished a nine-peat in the Philippine University Games (UniGames) from 1999 to 2007. The UniGames is a nationwide tournament, which pits together the best teams from across the archipelago in one tournament at the University of St. La Salle campus in Bacolod.
Currently, the Philippine National Women’s Football team, dubbed the Malditas, has two ladies who donned the La Salle jersey during the latter’s unparalleled run in the UAAP. In her last two years with La Salle, current National Team Captain Marielle Benitez was also the skipper for the first two teams of the illustrious UAAP four-peat.
In addition, 2003 UAAP MVP Benitez capped off her last collegiate football game in grand fashion. She fired a free-kick in the 37th minute, which went through the keeper and was the decisive and only goal of the championship match against FEU.
Betina Yang, now a Malditas defender, played a vital part in three championships that completed La Salle’s UAAP four-peat. She said, “Our team was so successful because we all got along on and off the field. Any issues were cleared right away. The team was like an extension of our family. Our training wasn’t just improving our skills with the ball. We were taught how to think with and without the ball, [and] how to create opportunities to score. We were also one of the fittest teams.”
Yang, who injured her foot during Season 68, shared, “Even on the bench, you’d feel all the same emotions as if you were playing. And once the whistle blew, the sense of accomplishment was also felt. Whether or not you play the game, the win is a team effort, and you feel it just as strongly, as if you were in the field playing the entire match.”
With a balanced attack centered on teamwork and fluid movement, the Lady Booters of this era struck fear in the hearts of rivals across the nation. Aside from these two Malditas, the four-peat squads were bannered by the likes of Clarissa Lazaro, Andrea Sevilla, Inna Alejandro, Sugar Perez, Stephanie Pheasant and Gia Yusi.
None of this would have been possible without Head Coach Hans Smit, who is now the longest tenured in the UAAP. His players recall that he would psyche them up and get them ready for the game mentally. Ever the wise tactician, Smit is the first to settle his team down and remind his players to play to their strengths.
Smit also drilled his wards through physical and mental training to ensure that they are absolutely ready for the game.
With the football frenzy sparked by the Philippine National Football team, the Azkals, Filipinos nowadays have grown awareness and interest on the world’s most popular sport. The sport’s overall popularity among the people has gone through the roof.Nowadays, Rizal Memorial attracts thousands of spectators to football games—something that would not have been possible just a few years ago. Interest in watching football has even trickled down to UAAP games as evidenced by a growing number of UAAP football fans.A few years before the sport’s nationwide emergence, the De La Salle University Lady Booters dominated the local football scene, playing with unparalleled dominance for most of the 2000’s. The Lady Booters won four straight UAAP championships from 2003 to 2006 with the team’s streak coming to an end because of La Salle’s suspension in the 2007 season due to ineligibility issues. In those years, La Salle vanquished FEU twice, UP and then FEU to mark a four-peat.Moreover, the Lady Booters accomplished a nine-peat in the Philippine University Games (UniGames) from 1999 to 2007. The UniGames is a nationwide tournament, which pits together the best teams from across the archipelago in one tournament at the University of St. La Salle campus in Bacolod. Currently, the Philippine National Women’s Football team, dubbed the Malditas, has two ladies who donned the La Salle jersey during the latter’s unparalleled run in the UAAP. In her last two years with La Salle, current National Team Captain Marielle Benitez was also the skipper for the first two teams of the illustrious UAAP four-peat.In addition, 2003 UAAP MVP Benitez capped off her last collegiate football game in grand fashion. She fired a free-kick in the 37th minute, which went through the keeper and was the decisive and only goal of the championship match against FEU. Betina Yang, now a Malditas defender, played a vital part in three championships that completed La Salle’s UAAP four-peat. She said, “Our team was so successful because we all got along on and off the field. Any issues were cleared right away. The team was like an extension of our family. Our training wasn’t just improving our skills with the ball. We were taught how to think with and without the ball, [and] how to create opportunities to score. We were also one of the fittest teams.”
Yang, who injured her foot during Season 68, shared, “Even on the bench, you’d feel all the same emotions as if you were playing. And once the whistle blew, the sense of accomplishment was also felt. Whether or not you play the game, the win is a team effort, and you feel it just as strongly, as if you were in the field playing the entire match.”
With a balanced attack centered on teamwork and fluid movement, the Lady Booters of this era struck fear in the hearts of rivals across the nation. Aside from these two Malditas, the four-peat squads were bannered by the likes of Clarissa Lazaro, Andrea Sevilla, Inna Alejandro, Sugar Perez, Stephanie Pheasant and Gia Yusi.
None of this would have been possible without Head Coach Hans Smit, who is now the longest tenured in the UAAP. His players recall that he would psyche them up and get them ready for the game mentally. Ever the wise tactician, Smit is the first to settle his team down and remind his players to play to their strengths.Smit also drilled his wards through physical and mental training to ensure that they are absolutely ready for the game.
