UAAP football: Tigers stun Archers behind OJ's late goal

OJ Clarino delivered big in stoppage time as University of Santo Tomas stunned La Salle, 1-0, Sunday to take second place in the UAAP men's football tournament at the Ateneo field. Clarino got the Tigers ahead late in the match after he received the ball inside the penalty box from a free kick by David Basa. He got enough space against the La Salle defenders to boot the ball to the back of the net, sending the UST gallery iinto a frenzy seconds before the final whistle was blown. With the win, the Tigers overtook the Green Archers in the league table with 14 points following their fourth win along with two losses and two draws. La Salle, on the other hand, suffered its first loss of the tournament, and remained at 12 points after three wins, three draws and one defeat. “We were lucky," said UST coach Marjo Allado. “Good thing the guys didn't give up, even with OJ struggling because he was really marked the whole 90 minutes." Allado said that UST still needs to work on its conditioning to keep pace with University of the Philippines, the surprise leader of the tournament. University of the Philippines retained its hold of the lead after defeating the struggling defending champion Far Eastern University, 1-0. The Fighting Maroons are the run-away leaders of the tournament with 19 points on six wins and a draw. “We are not satisfied with our pace. We need to be in form because UP is the fittest team in the league right now," said Allado. University of the East brought down Ateneo, 1-0, behind a goal by Gringo Bravo in the 17th minute. It was the Red Warriors’ first win after four draws and two defeats for seven points. Ateneo has two points along with FEU with two draws and five defeats. The league takes a one-week break to give way to the Philippines’ AFC Challenge Cup qualifier match against Mongolia in Bacolod City. - KY, RCJ, GMA News Online