SIX months after flying back and forth across the country to play tough matches on natural and artificial turfs, four teams – the FC Meralco Manila, Ceres Negros FC, Kaya FC Makati and Global Cebu FC – finally secured seats in the 2017 Philippines Football League semi-finals which kicks off this weekend.
Top seed Meralco will face the No. 4 Global FC with dates to be announced after the league’s meeting.
Number 2 Ceres FC takes on Kaya FC on December 3 at the University of Makati field at 4 p.m., and hosts Kaya FC on December 9, 7 p.m. at Panaad Stadium.
Meralco and Global are even with a win and draw each. In their July 22 match, both clubs ended on a two-all draw at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, but Global was able to pull a 2-1 edge against the Sparks on August 2.
On their third face-off last September 16 at the Cebu Sports Complex, both clubs ended the 90 minutes scoreless while Manila won their November 19 game, 2-1.
Meanwhile, Ceres FC’s 2-0 loss to Global FC on Tuesday slightly favored the Busmen with their successful games against the Makati side.
After a one-all draw during the inaugural match at the University of Makati football field, Ceres FC dominated Kaya, 3-1 on June 24 at the Panaad Stadium.
A 3-2 victory at Kaya’s home turf, and a 3-2 win on October 14 at Panaad field completed their elimination match ups.
Since anything can happen in football, and all these clubs are also cautious not to underestimate their rivals, based on their previous meetings. An upset will change the complexity of the next round and this is every club’s nightmare.
Winners of the semi-final matches are assured seats in next year’s AFC Cup and this is the most crucial phase of the league.
Now, with PFL coming to its closure in three weeks, football community are expecting a better handling of this premier tournament next season – particularly in the management of game schedules.
As a country where football have started to grow and trying to reach the grassroots, lots of things should be learned and ironed out to ensure that the league stays.
The support of the fan base is very important to sustain not only the popularity of the sport but in strengthening its foundation.
