Manila, Philippines — Back in the country following their AFC Champions League fixture in South Korea, Kaya FC-Iloilo booked their ticket to the Copa Semifinals to the tune of eight unanswered goals against the University of the Philippines.
It wasn’t until the 40-minute mark that Kaya got on the scoresheet—Mar Diano heading in the opener with a timely run into the box to score on the rebound. (0-1)
The floodgates opened when Abou Sy quickly followed that up in the 43rd minute. Daizo Horikoshi, weaving through defenders in the box, cut the ball back to the big man for the finish. (0-2)
Justin Baas joined the party not a minute later in the 44th. Picking up a lose ball at the edge of the box, the midfielder placed his strike nearly in the bottom right corner. (0-3)
The Horkoshi–Sy bore fruit once more, with the Senegalese striker completing his brace in the 47th right before the halftime break. A perfectly timed run to meet a perfectly timed cross, Abou notched his 10th goal of the Copa campaign. (0-4)
Kaya rotated their squad in the second period, and the scoring spree continued in the 63rd minute when Jovin Bedic threaded a perfect pass to Robert Lopez Mendy in the box. The big man’s feint dropped the keeper, and he went around to launch the ball into the roof of the net. (0-5)
Summer signing Curt Dizon scored his maiden goal for the club in the 86th minute. Kenry Balobo caught the UP backline unaware, pinging a long ball over the top for the winger who went one-on-one for the simple finish. (0-6)
Eric Giganto added the cherries on top with a brace in the 88th and 90th minutes, respectively. The first was a strike from distance that powered through a deflection and came down just under the crossbar, out of reach of the keeper. (0-7)
The second came on the counter once more, with Marwin Angeles’ through ball slicing through UP’s formation to find Eric in stride—taking a touch and burying Kaya’s eighth in the back of the net. (0-8)
The yellow & black take both games against the Fighting Maroons with a final scoreline of 11-0 on aggregate—taking a big step towards the club’s goal of recapturing the Copa and heading into the international break on a comfortable win.
Starting Lineup:
LF: Horikoshi, ST: Sy, RF: Amita
CM: Baas, CDM: Swainston, CM: Angeles
LB: Arboleda©, CB: Tacusalme, CB: Menzi, RB: Diano
GK: Bandeken
Subs: Bandeken, Bata, Diano, Romero, Giganto, Angeles, Swainston, Dizon, Lopez Mendy, Gayoso
Coach Yu Hoshide made six personnel changes on the afternoon:
- Kenry Balobo, Curt Dizon, and Robert Lopez Mendy checked in for Henri Bandeken, Justin Baas, and Abou Sy coming back from halftime.
- Jovin Bedic, Eric Giganto, and Julian Romero came in for Arnel Amita, Daizo Horikoshi, and Mar Diano in the 61st minute.
Justin Baas was the only Kaya player to be booked, receiving a yellow in the 24th minute for a high boot.
