Kaya-Iloilo seals PH Football League title
MANILA – Kaya Futbol Club-I loi lo has formally clinched the Philippines Football League( PFL) championship even with still a match to spare in their 2022- 2023 season this weekend.
The Iloilo City-based boo te rs locked in on their first-ever P FL crown after StallionLaguna Football Club held Dynamic HerbCebu Football Club to a score less draw on Wednesday afternoon in Cebu City.
Goal keeper Patrick Dey to was the Man of the Match for StallionLaguna after executing crucial saves from Dynamic Herb-Cebu in the highly-physical and highly-emotional encounter.
It was a testy game that saw Stallion- Laguna trimmed to nine persons due to red cards and Dynamic Herb-Cebu also went down to 10 players due to ejection. Cebu team’s head coach Mehmer Kakil was also thrown out for excessive complaining.
With Dynamic HerbCebu already finished with their 22- game, f our- round assignment, they settled for second place with 51 points with 15 victories, six draws and one defeat.
Kay a-I loi lo, on the other hand, is at top spot with 52 points on 17 wins, one draw and three defeats with still one game remaining in their schedule against Stallion-Laguna this Saturday at theRiz al Memorial Football Stadium.
Kaya- Iloilo head coach Yu Hoshide was thankful with the football club’s first-ever PFL title as it showed that their hardwork for the entire season has paid off but they are still determined to beat Stallion-Laguna in their final game.
“Of course we’ re really excited( with the coronation this Saturday), but what we have to do is the same. We handle training first, then we have to win against Stallion- Laguna,” Hoshide said.
“Football isa sport where you never know what will happen until the game is over. I expect our players to respect the opponent, to fight 100% and to play high- quality possession football f rom start to finish,” he added.
With the championship, Kay aIloi lo has earned a qualification to the 2023-2024 AFC Champions League, while second and third pl acer Dynamic HerbCe bu and StallionLaguna are qualified to 2023- 2024 AFC Cup./