Kaya-Makati leaned on the heroics of substitute Eric Giganto to beat fierce rival Meralco-Manila, 2-1, over the weekend in the Philippines Football League at the University of Makati Field.
Giganto scored the go-ahead goal in the 89th minute when he received Jordan Mintah’s through ball, faked an attempt before putting the ball past Meralco goalkeeper Junjun Badelic to complete Kaya’s dramatic victory.
The win helped Kaya improve to 41 points after 23 matches, reducing Meralco’s lead to just three. Meralco, which snapped a seven-match unbeaten streak, has 44 points with two games at hand.
Mintah scored the opening goal for Kaya in the 22nd but Meralco evened terms in the 36th when Korean defender Lee Jeong Min found the back of the net off a free kick by Tahj Minniecon.
Kaya’s victory also allowed Ceres-Negros to close in on Meralco after a 5-0 drubbing of lowly Ilocos United at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.
Stephan Schrock struck twice to help the Busmen overtake idle Global-Cebu for third place with 35 points in 16 matches, nine behind Meralco for first and six off Kaya for second.
