By JONAS TERRADO
The most crucial phase of the inaugural Philippines Football League season begins today as the so-called “Finals Series” composed of four teams gets underway with the first leg of the two semifinal duels in the metropolis.
Top seed Meralco-Manila and fourth-ranked Global-Cebu face off tonight at the Rizal Memorial Stadium while No. 2 Ceres-Negros and No. 3 Kaya-Makati battle in the other semis tomorrow at the University of Makati Field.
All four clubs are eager to gain the early advantage before next weekend’s second leg matches that would put them closer to advancing to the one-game final set Dec. 16.
Meralco gets the luxury of playing both legs at Rizal Memorial after Global failed to make the Cebu City Sports Center available for the scheduled match.
But Global has had some success at Rizal Memorial before, that is why Meralco is not taking anything for granted despite its top billing.
Meanwhile, Ceres and Kaya could see another fierce encounter like in their elimination round matches with high stakes on the line.