UAAP: La Salle men overturn 2-goal deficit to frustrate Adamson

MANILA — De La Salle University frustrated league-leading Adamson University in a 2-2 draw in the UAAP Season 89 men’s football tournament on Sunday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.

John Gaverza and Lukie Aguilar found the back of the net as the Green Booters erased an early two-goal deficit and denied the Soaring Falcons a fifth win in the tournament.

The Green Booters trailed 0-2 after 16 minutes before Gaverza pulled one back in the 39th minute, sending a right-footed shot past Adamson goalkeeper Christian Lauron to cut the deficit before halftime.

Aguilar then completed La Salle’s comeback in the 58th minute, unleashing a powerful left-footed strike from outside the box to ensure both teams settled for a share of the points.

La Salle’s Lucas Aguilar celebrates after scoring against Adamson in the UAAP Season 89 men’s football tournament, October 18, 2026 at the UP Diliman Football Stadium. UAAP Media“We know that Adamson is a strong team, very unpredictable,” said Leyble. “The boys also played according to what we prepared, except for those 10 minutes—they played slowly, and that mistake is not acceptable. I told them that we should continue with what we planned and stick to it, no matter what happens.”

With the stalemate, both schools remain unbeaten and continue to lead the standings, with Adamson sitting atop the table with 13 points and La Salle in second place with 10.

Adamson, however, was left to rue its failure to protect a two-goal advantages.

Jemar Andrade gave Adamson a dream start, scoring with a left-footed shot just seven minutes into the match off a pass from teammate Roberto Roldan. Fritz Chua then doubled the Soaring Falcons’ lead in the 16th minute, putting them in control before La Salle mounted its comeback.

“It’s so obvious that we lost our concentration during the game, especially when defending against La Salle,” said Adamson deputy Lemuel Unabia.

“During halftime, I kept reminding them how we scored the first two goals and that we should do the same in the second half. We didn’t change the game plan, but we failed.”