Inaugural PFL season hits semifinal stage
AFTER SEVEN months of home and away regular season play, the inaugural year of the Philippines Football League (PFL) moves to a higher phase of competition with the start of the semifinal round this weekend.
From a full complement of eight teams, the field has been cut to half with the surviving squads battling it out in a twolegged aggregate-goals series to decide which of them will play in the PFL’s first- ever championship match.
Left standing in the competition are regular season winner FC Meralco Manila (17-7-4) with 58 points, Ceres Negros FC (17-6-5) at 57, Kaya FC Makati (14-5-9) at 47 and Global Cebu FC (13-8-7) also at 47 points.
Meralco faces off with Global beginning this Saturday while Ceres takes on Kaya in the series which starts on Sunday.
“I would like to congratulate the four teams that have qualified to the Philippines Football League Finals Series and at the same time wish them good luck,” said Philippine Football Federation president Mariano V. Araneta, whose group is the prime mover for the establishment of the country’s national football league.
“What started out as a collective dream then has become a reality; we are near the day where the first professional club of the Philippines Football League will be crowned champions,” he added.
EXPECTING A TOUGH BATTLE
While it wound up on top of the heap at the end of the regular season, Meralco, meanwhile, is not expecting anything easy in the semifinal round, especially since it is up against Global, the last team it got a win from among the other teams in the league.
After three matches when they drew twice and lost once, the Sparks finally got one over Cebu early last month, 2-1, at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
In said game, Daniel Gadia, with his first-ever PFL goal, produced the late winner.
It was a result that Meralco is looking at with some significance as it heads into its series with Global.
“Winning that game was psychologically beneficial and showed the great character of the team,” said Sparks coach Aris Caslib.
It was a sentiment that Meralco striker Curt Dizon shares albeit he cautioned that they still have to stay on their toes and focus on what needs to be done.
“We have more confidence after beating them but we can’t take them lightly,” said Mr. Dizon.
Meralco will have an almost full slate of healthy players at its disposal, with all projected starters in good health.
Global, on the other hand, is still without injured Azkal centerback Amani Aguinaldo but will have Misagh Bahadoran back in harness.
The first leg of Meralco versus Global will be at 7 p. m. on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium while that of Ceres against Kaya is at 4 p. m. on Sunday at the University of Makati Stadium.
The PFL finals is set for Dec. 16. —