Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bacolod: After a gruelling 28 league game season over a seven-month period, followed by a two-legged semi-final, it all comes down to this. One match – on Saturday, December 16, 2017 at Bacolod’s Panaad Stadium – to decide who writes their name into the history books as the first champions of the Philippines Football League (PFL).
Both Grand Finalists have played more than 40 matches each during the year with their commitments in the continental Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup and the Singapore Cup adding to their already congested fixture list.
The two football gladiators still standing after this arduous journey are Ceres Negros FC from Bacolod, Negro Occidental and Global Cebu FC based in Cebu City, Cebu.
Second-placed Ceres clinched their spot in the final with a hard fought 3-1 aggregate win over Kaya FC-Makati in the semi-final. Goals from Spanish twin terrors of Fernando Rodriguez and Bienvenido Maranon – who have each scored 21 goals in the PFL this season – helped the Busmen power their way to the Grand Final.
Global, commonly known as the People’s Club, had it tougher when they ousted top seeds FC Meralco Manila 3-2 on aggregate, in dramatic fashion.
In the second leg, Rufo Sanchez latched onto a poor clearance by the Meralco defence to score just seven minutes before the final whistle. The goal gave Global the lead which saw them through to Bacolod.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/jerry_barbaso_global_cebu_pfl_2017.html
