By Jonas Terrado
Global-Cebu denied archrival Ceres-Negros the top seed in the semifinals after posting a 2-0 victory Tuesday night as the elimination round of the Philippines Football League came to a close at the Cebu City Sports Center.
Spanish striker Rufo Sanchez and Misagh Bahadoran scored in the first half and Global shook off a heartbreaking loss to Albirex Niigata in the Singapore Cup Final over the weekend and gain some momentum going into the playoffs known as the Final Series.
The result also allowed Meralco-Manila to seal the No. 1 seed and a date with No. 4 Global in the home-and-away semifinals which starts on Saturday in Cebu.
Meralco topped the 28-game elims with 58 points, one off Ceres which settled for second and a playoff date with third-ranked Kaya-Makati.
Kaya and Global wound up with identical 47 points but the Makati outfit took third on goal difference.
Ceres and Kaya begin their own two-legged semis on Sunday at the University of Makati Field.
The second leg of both semis are scheduled on Dec. 9 and 10 in Manila and Bacolod City, respectively. The semifinal winners meet in a one-game final on Dec. 16.
