Male Rookie of the Year: Jed Diamante

Entering Season 78, Jed Diamante faced high expectations, being the third and youngest of the Diamante brothers to represent DLSU Football. During his time in La Salle, eldest brother Gio was known as a workhorse with his tenacious style of play. Gelo, on the other hand, was known for having proficient technique.

Throughout his rookie season, the youngest Diamante on the team this season coped with the pressure, lived up to expectations, and proved to possess the attributes of not one, but both of his older mentors. DLSU Football showcased remarkable rookies in the UAAP Season 78 Football Tournament, not only in the women’s team tandem of Shannon Arthur and Sara Castañeda, but also through Diamante.

The freshman out of Ateneo De Davao was a fixture in the starting line-up of head coach Hans Smit, starting in all but one match this season (14 out of 15 games). Despite being a newcomer, Diamante had been assigned the vital central midfield position. He would orchestrate the Green-and-White offense from there, and provide defensive support with graduating central midfielders Greggy Yang and Jojo Borromeo under a 4-1-4-1 formation.

The team struggled to control the midfield early on in the season, but eventually found its cohesion as Diamante proved to be a steady force. To complement his efforts in the midfield, the playmaker also managed to score three goals for the Green-and-White this season.

Early on in the eliminations, Diamante went on to score his debut goal in a 1-0 victory versus eventual champions UP Fighting Maroons. With his team struggling to contain the Fighting Maroon attack, the rookie stepped up and scored the deciding goal of the game, with a header setup by Jhoguev Ybañez and Yang.

Diamante went on to score his second goal of the season as they cruised past the AdU Soaring Falcons, 6-0. Fast forward to their second round meeting against the much improved Soaring Falcons and Diamante stepped up again to seal the 2-0 victory.

La Salle may have ended its season in a heartbreaking 5-4 penalty shootout to rival ADMU, but Diamante proved to be a bright spot that the team can count on in the coming seasons. Though the outcome may have not been in their favor, the team witnessed the rookie take control of what was a pressure-packed game as if he were a seasoned veteran.

The future of DLSU Football remains bright despite the Green-and-White losing key players to graduation, and older Diamante brother Gelo opting to forego his final playing year. Diamante not only took home Rookie of the Year honors in the UAAP Men’s Football Tournament, but was also named to the Season 78 Team of the Year.

Honorable mentions: Andrei Caracut (Men’s Basketball), Kyle Arsenal (Men’s Taekwondo), Diego Lozano (Baseball)