MERALCO ROAD GOES THROUGH GLOBAL

As if topping the quadruple round league wasn’t tough enough, FC Meralco Manila’s road to a first Philippines Football League title now needs to go through a club which already owns a rich winning tradition.

Global Cebu, which has endured an inconsistent season, finishing fourth in the league, stands in the way of the Sparks in the two-leg semifinals starting Saturday at 4 p.m. at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

But Meralco is upbeat with coach Aris Caslib liking his squad’s chances since it no longer needs to travel to Cebu to play Global’s home match due to the unavailability of the Cebu City Sports Center.

“The confidence of the team is high,” said Caslib. “This will be a good opportunity to have rest in between games because we don’t need to travel.”

The former national team coach has actually impressed in his first season with the Sparks, coping well despite the departure of Phil and James Younghusband to the Davao Aguilas in the middle of the season.

Simon Greatwich, Tahj Minniecon and Joaco Canas have taken over the leadership mantle in the squad, while talented youngsters like Daniel Gadia and Connor Tacagni have actually emerged as solid options for the Sparks.

Global is coming off a second place finish in the Singapore Cup last week. But while the team has struggled in the PFL this season, Singaporean coach Akbar Nawas still boasts one of the most experienced teams in the league led by Misagh Bahadoran.

Nawas however rued the missed opportunity of not playing in Cebu.