UAAP: DLSU Football out for redemption in Season 78

With the 2016 UAAP Football Season well underway, Coach Hans Smit’s squads are out for redemption. The DLSU Men’s Football Team are aiming to make up for their heartbreaking runner-up finish last season, while the DLSU Women’s Football Team are aiming to bounce back from their fourth-place finish in the five-team tournament.

The men’s team finished the elimination round of Season 77 as the first seed, going undefeated with 32 points after finishing with a 9-5-0 record. The women’s team, in contrast, ended the previous season in fourth place with a 2-2-4 record to finish with eight points, failing to advance to the final round.

Roster changes

Striker Gelo Diamante took over the captain’s armband from older brother Gio, while Iñigo Gonzales took over as co-captain. For the women’s team, Meryll Ledesma and Inna Palacios have been named captain and co-captain, respectively.

With the departure of veteran players from both squads, particularly midfielders Gio Diamante and Nathan Alquiros, along with defender Matt Nierras for the men’s team, both teams are looking to their remaining veterans and newcomers this season.

“They (the rookies and remaining players) have to step up. I try to balance position-wise my teams by individuals, but there are other players who will step up sooner or later. They will just grow up after, if I give them the right exposure,” added the long-time head coach.

The women’s team debuted two highly touted recruits in Sara Castañeda from De La Salle Zobel and Shannon Arthur from Colegio San Agustin-Makati. For the men’s team, Jed Diamante, the youngest of the Diamante brothers, along with goalkeeper Kerbi Almonte from La Salle Greenhills will be added to further reinforce the already stacked lineup.

Tighter competition

Though both teams enter this weekend without a single loss, they
bring high expectations to what is currently a competitive landscape. A lot of the football squads in the league have been stepping up their game by acquiring new recruits and developing their players. “You see the UAAP’s getting tighter and tighter in competition. You know, because of the recruits and the programs of the different universities… But like I always say, the UAAP is a cutthroat tournament,” Smit said.

For this reason, both teams have been undergoing a number of major adjustments both in their lineup and in their gameplay. According to Smit, one of the factors that can help boost a team in this kind of level of competition is having a great list of bench players to support its starting lineup. Over the past years, La Salle has been acquiring more and more recruits that are skilled and capable of contributing to the team.

“Whoever has a deeper bench would have a better chance. In the UAAP, you cannot just only play with 11 or 12 or 13 players – you need to really have a really deep bench,” Smit explains.

The women’s team has shown promise in the offseason after winning the 2015 UniGames Football Tournament while also making a finals appearance at the 2015 PFF Women’s Invitational Cup.

“I believe in the team so much because we have the drive talaga to get the championship this year,” said Ledesma.  “We’re all so focused every training. We talk it out every time we have problems even though they’re small.”

The men’s team in contrast is looking to bounce back from a dismal showing at the UniGames after failing to advance to the knockout rounds. “The UniGames was a trial, with rotational play and trying out new players, to see where people can adjust and where people can play. So it’s just a stepping-stone. The UAAP’s our real goal,” said Gonzales.