Seventh Day: UP Floorball League (condensed)

Ylanan Gym, UP Diliman - In probably the most exciting series of games in a day the Floorball Club ever had, September 8's knock-out round matches proved to be remarkable not only in the determination of teams that will qualify in the semifinals but also in proving the astonishing talents that the members of the Club possess.

4ury gains top-seed after four second-half goals against Mighty 300

The Blades of 4ury used a 4-goal Second Half performance to come back against the Mighty 300 and complete their sweep of the UPFL regular season making them the top-seeded team in the League.

The Mighty 300’s counterattack strategy proved solid in the first half as despite strong control of the ball and multiple attempts by the Blades, The Mighty 300 left them scoreless in the half. The defense was anchored by Jerome Santiago who managed 9 saves in the half alone. TJ Ablaza broke the cold spell surrounding the game as he made good on a pass from Jun Pellejera to take the 1-0 lead as his shot from the right wing slipped past the Blades’ Fra Silva.

But the Blades were quick to work in the second half as just over 2 minutes in, they not only tied but took the lead. Miguel Dimacali tied it up at 11:27 with a pass from Marco Ortiz, while Luis Manila put the Blades ahead with a left wing drive at 12:20. Marco Ortiz then proceeded to seal the game with goals at 15:15 and 16:20.
The Mighty 300’s Jun Pellejera scored off a pass from Bullet Ribaya to cut the Blades’ lead to two, but the 300 could not follow it up due to the stepped up pressure of the Blades’ Defense.

The Mighty 300’s Jerome Santiago finished with 12 saves while The Blades of 4ury’s Fra Silva finished with 2.

Article by Liam Canlas

TLZ ruins Cachero’s huge game as they gain spot in semis

It was a close fight as both teams had aggressive offenses and well-coordinated attacks.

At the start of the game, Blue Fire Sparks seemed to have the winning hand in the game. Around 1:08 into the game,Nathaniel Cachero scored the first goal against TLZ, assisted by Yvonne Sermense. Johnel Bacani retaliated by scoring a goal at 4:20 for TLZ, but Cachero hit back with two successive goals against Blue Fire Sparks, each assisted by Izza Cortez and Kristine Pineda respectively (marks 5:46 and 6:41). Another goal from Cachero ended came at 9:17 favoring the Blue Fire Sparks. Fired up, TLZ scored two goals: one from Marko Silang at 8:04 assisted by Nickolo Perez, and one from Perez himself, assisted by Johnel Bacani fourteen seconds before the half ends. The half ended 4 to 3, with the Sparks up by a point.

The second period was an intense play of defense and timing, as both teams aimed to score points while preventing any goals from surpassing them. Nate Tarcelo from Blue Fire Sparks relieved most of the pressure in their court, blocking 4 goal attempts in the second period. On the other hand, Mimi Mabanta from TLZ was aided well by her teammates, with only one goal breaching their defense and was successfully blocked by her. Three minutes into the second period, Nickolo Perez, assisted by Neil Astrologo, evened the team's scores at 4-4. A casual shot from Neil Astrologo at 17:52 ended the game, ending the game at 5-4 in favor of TLZ.

Next week, the UP Floorball League holds its Championship matches. The winning teams will face-off against each other in an attempt to claim UPFL's Season 3 Cup. Who will triumph in the glory of victory and bask in the presence of success? Find out in the epic conclusion to this season's tournament next week!

Article by Eric Gelido

Superfly delivers shocking comeback against aggressive Sixxy

Ylanan Gym, UP Diliman - Cheers resounded in the Ylanan Gym after an intense and close battle between UP Floorball teams Sixxy and Superfly. Superfly, after falling behind Sixxy's scoring momentum, springs back into the game and eventually takes the win.

Sixxy dominated the first half, scoring 3 goals in rapid succession, showcasing their forwards; strong offensive particularly Joshua Paunil's well-placed shots. High hopes surfaced as Superfly, the season's second in the standings, starts to look like the first to be eliminated from the playoffs. Though Sixxy seemed completely dominant at first, Superfly continued its lively attempts at gaining a goal. Superfly then started breaking through Sixxy's defense, scoring successively near the end of the half and managing to tie the game 3-3.

The second half turned out to be an intense exchange of ball possession, both teams displaying an impressive run going back and forth for offense and defense. Sixxy managed to sink in 2 goals early in the half, placing them in the lead once more. The game started to look to be in Sixxy's favor as the timer ticks down to mark the end of the match but Superfly kept on pressing its persistent offense, Ralph Ramos and Saldio Amador particularly being able to proceed deep into Sixxy's defensive line. Sixxy managed to deny them any shot attempts though and moved up on their own to try and score more goals to secure their victory. In an amazing turn of events, however, using timed interceptions and well-placed passes, Superfly forwards Saldio Amador and Joco Navarro managed to score two quick goals just before the half ended. Ending with a score of 5-5, both teams now prepare for a Sudden Death round to determine the semifinals qualifier.

Tension was in the air as the match closes into its climactic end. The sudden death round started with determined attempts by Sixxy to make the winning goal. With one good play by Superfly however, the curtain was dropped on the match as Amador added to his record another game-winning play: sinking a quick one-timer from a pass by Ralph Ramos. Superfly had survived the knock-out round and had secured a slot in the semifinals. They will be facing off against Stick-O next week to determine which of them will play in the UPFL Season 3 Finals.

Article by Jan Gallardo

Rentero saves Stick-O against the Badass Boomslangs

The Badass Boomslangs say goodbye to the UP Floorball League Season 3 after another one-point loss against the Stick-O.

The Badass Boomslangs looked forward to a reprisal win against the Stick-O, ably leading the early match courtesy of the ever-present threat Sweetheart Baz and the rotation of the forwards Carlo Selabao and Royce Corrige. Baz scores at the 2:57 mark followed by Selabao at 6:02. However, Paolo Rentero managed to close the 2-0 gap a few seconds before the end of the first half, with one assist from Miguel Urbano.

The match was back to square one while both teams held their tight defenses in the second half. Tata Cabillas scores a one-point lead about three minutes into the half. The Boomslangs’ Carlis Gazzingan and goalkeeper Royce Corridge kept a tight clutch on their one-point lead, but Ren Dela Cruz managed to equalize the game at 17:00. Rentero then broke into the goal with a mid-range slapshot, one minute and thirty seconds left into the game. However, the stick-O was caught off-guard by Selabao, balancing the game at 4-4 right after Rentero’s goal. Both teams kept a tight defense until the whistle ending the second half into a draw.

The last allotted five minutes of the game was a déjà vu return to square one for both teams, but this time entering into a death match: the first team to score wins while the loser leaves the tournament. Right after the face-off, the Boomslangs’ Cabillas led a powerful series of attacks, only to be frustrated by the Stick-O’s goalkeeper Liam Canlas. Finally, for a second time assisted by Urbano, Rentero retaliates and once again leads the Stick-O to a one-point victory against the Badass Boomslangs.

Article by Nathan Nogales

Blades of 4ury advances to semis; defeats Mighty 300 by 8

The playoff game showed little resemblance to the earlier seeding game, as the Blades of 4ury chased the Mighty 300 out of the building to advance to the second round with an 8-0 win.

The Blades burst out of the gates as Marco Ortiz started the scoring run with a goal just 5 seconds into the match. Ortiz proceeded to complete a hat-trick in under two minutes with goals at 0:58 and 1:41. Luis Manila joined in on the abuse of the Mighty 300’s defense with a shot at 3:55 off an assist by AC Arrojo.

The one thing that carried over from the previous game was the second half pressure that the Blades displayed on defense. The Mighty 300 struggled to get attempts and were continuously pushed to their side of the court.
The Blades continued to punish the 300’s defense in the second half as Ortiz completed another hat-trick with goals at 11:45, 12:30 and one assisted by Arrojo at 16:36. Manila managed a second goal, scoring at 14:04.

Despite the huge deficit, Jerome Santiago had a strong performance with 14 saves, while the Blades’ Fra Silva had 4.

Article by Liam Canlas