Cebu, Philippines — In the biggest match of the year with the season on the line, the top two contending teams found themselves equally matched in 1-1 draw. 

Daizo Horikoshi drew first blood in the 7th minute, capping off a frantic opening period with a perfectly-timed run in behind the CFC line for a quick tap in. Mar Diano joined the attack off a long pass from Simone Rota, linking play with Jhan Melliza before breaking free up the right flank to square the ball for the league-leading scorer in stride. (0-1)

With Iloilo in front early, Cebu’s retaliation came in the form of their counters and set pieces—applying pressure and drawing fouls in dangerous areas. In the 19th minute, JB Borlongan’s inswinging free kick found Daniel Gadia in the box who knocked the ball back to Jason Cordova for the equalizer. (1-1) 

The back-and-forth scoring exchange in the first half would ultimately be the only two goals scored this afternoon, as both sides locked in and simply refused to concede again. The match eventually evened out and turned into a tough, physical affair—a total of thirty fouls between the two sides by full time. Kaya stayed disciplined out of possession, wary of the Gentle Giants with their home crowd at their back. 

Zach Banzon came up huge, cutting off dangerous passes into the box and making several crucial saves in key moments. This included a sequence in the 76th minute on a quick counter down the right from the hosts. Borlongan crashed the box from the left and got off a clean shot on goal, but the captain dove full stretch to palm it away.   

Iloilo had several chances to reclaim the lead, but the ball just refused to find the back of the net. Dylan Nobiraki let one fly from thirty yards out in the 43rd minute, but it nicked the crossbar and out. Jarvey Gayoso had back-to-back chances up the left flank in the 52nd minute, but his attempts to squeeze the ball in at the near post proved unfruitful. 

Daizo got his one-on-one situations in the latter part of the second half, as the Cebu crowd watched with bated breaths whenever he danced. Milad Behgandom set up several chances for the frontline, picking out through balls while navigating the midfield. Neither were able to find joy, however, and the team shifted their focus to holding off a comeback. 

In the end, the boys didn’t necessarily need a win today to stay in the driver’s seat in the PFL title race. The table remains unchanged after splitting the points, Cebu remain in second and Iloilo maintain the top spot. Next up, it’s back to Luzon for Kaya for a rematch against Mendiola FC 1991.  

Starting Lineup:

CF: Gayoso

LMF: D. Horikoshi, CMF: Behgandom, CMF: Nobiraki, RMF: Melliza

DMF: Angeles

LB: Arboleda, CB: Rota, CB: Menzi, RB: Diano

GK: Banzon

Subs: Bedic, Giganto, Amita, Casambre, T. Horikoshi, Balobo, Bata

Coach Yu Hoshide used four substitutions on the afternoon: 

• Arnel Amita relieved Marwin Angeles in the 66th minute.  
• Jovin Bedic and Tamon Horikoshi checked in for Jarvey Gayoso and Jhan Melliza in the 74th minute. 
• Marco Casambre entered the game for Audie Menzi in the 84th minute. 

Both Amita and Bedic made their way into the referees book, receiving yellow cards in the 69th and 82nd minutes, respectively.