ATENEO arranged a championship showdown with Far Eastern University following a 2-0 win over University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP men’s football tournament Thursday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Kofi Agyei drew first blood for the Blue Eagles in the first-half stoppage time with a header off a set-piece before Galen Fernandez struck from close range in the 53rd minute to seal the Katipunan-based school’s second consecutive trip to the big dance.

“We’re very happy,” said Ateneo coach JP Merida. “Especially this game, it’s such a tough challenge sa amin coming into this game. The good thing what happened awhile ago was we started strong.

“That’s the reason we scored even in the last minute of the first half. We’re very happy. I’m so proud of my players. This is the game that we scored two goals and kept a clean sheet. It’s unbelievable.”

The top-ranked Blue Eagles avenged their two losses to the No. 4 Growling Tigers in the elimination round

Ateneo is bracing for a tough battle to extend its reign.

The Blue Eagles will face the Tamaraws next Thursday at the same Malate venue, where they are eyeing a ninth championship.

It will be FEU’s first title match appearance since 2017, where it lost to Jarvey Gayoso-led Ateneo.

Having already beaten the Tamaraws twice this season, the Blue Eagles’ major challenge then is to make sure that they won’t head into the final overconfident.

“There’s no room for complacency against FEU,” said Merida. “It’s a tough game against FEU. They’re very strong especially with their attacking players so I think we need to work on our defending.”

The third-ranked Tamaraws defeated No. 2 La Salle, 2-0, in the other Final Four pairing. The Green Archers still reached the podium despite the semis defeat.

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Theodore P. Jurado