_{Photo from Joshua Pulido Enriquez Photography}

By Lianna Roc and Solei Vasquez

The Ateneo Junior Football Team (AJFT) flaunted their prowess on the field against six different teams at the Campo Alcantara Stadium in Iloilo City, from October 28 to November 3. 

From the very first whistle, the team was relentless in their pursuit for the top step of the podium—opening their campaign with a dominant 8-1 win over Bayawan City FC.

Although the next two matches did not come easy, resulting in draws at 0-0 and 1-1 against Janner Chiefy Football Club Barotac Nuevo as well as Kaya Academy Football Club, respectively; the team were quick to respond with another win against St. Alexius College, 3-1.

The AJFT did not intend to stop there, as they wound up beating Iloilo Guimaras FA 3-2, ending the elimination round in 1st place.

These results were not by mere chance, as Roman Tabayoyong, a member of the team, said that they had to face a myriad of challenges before triumphing over their opponents.

“One challenge we had was staying fit to play every game because we had to play those games every day for 6 days straight. Each game was 90 minutes, so it was quite a toll, especially on players that played every minute of every game,” Tabayoyong added.

He added further that something that clicked to the team was his coach reminding them of the “big picture,” and to remember the main reason why they joined the competition.

Despite the hurdles, the whole team remained determined to go for the gold in their championship match against JCFC Barotac Nuevo, the sole team they were unable to score a goal against. 

Shaking off any jitters, polishing their play, and listening to their coach’s words of looking at the ‘big picture,’ of things, the team redeemed themselves from their previous draw, winning the match with a score of 3-1.

Asked if the team had expected to fare this well, Tabayoyong spoke on behalf of his teammates, saying that there was an ‘air of uncertainty,’ surrounding the relatively new team. 

“We were uncertain of how our newly formed team would fare, but the main goal we had going into it was to look at the ‘big picture,’ which is to prepare ourselves as a team for the upcoming UAAP season.”

“Majority of the teams we played against we had never faced before. But confidence was quickly built in, and the team settled in well and was able to compete at the intensity we needed to be at,” he went on to say.

Nevertheless, he said that avoiding complacency is important, admitting that his performance still had room for improvement despite securing the gold.

“Personally, I feel like in my performance there was definitely room for improvement… [Meanwhile], as a team, despite some mistakes made here and there, we definitely learned from it and improved significantly every game,” he added further.