THE Cebu Football Club (CFC) Gentle Giants kept their Finals Series hopes alive in the 2024-25 Philippines Football League (PFL) Season after nipping Stallion Laguna FC, 1-0, Sunday night, April 6, at their home ground at the Dynamic HERB-Borromeo Sports Complex.
In what could be their best performance in the season, the Gentle Giants matched the electrifying atmosphere created by their passionate supporters in the stadium. The Cebuano crowd, being the 12th man of the team, once again filled the stadium with chants of “CFC” and “Tara Cebu”, complemented by rhythmic beating of the drums throughout the match.
Kainoa Agrifino Bailey scored the lone goal of the match in the 31st minute, a header off a well-placed cross from Roberto “Papu” Corsame. The narrow victory propelled CFC back into the Top 4, keeping the Gentle Giants in contention for the Finals Series.
The Gentle Giants can now breathe a sigh of relief as they now have a firm grip of the fourth spot with 30 points on a 9-3-5 win-loss draw record, while Stallion dropped back to fifth spot with 27 points on an 8-3-6 card.
The Gentle Giants also have a chance to break into the Top 3, depending on the results of their last matches next week. Third seed One Taguig FC sports the same record as CFC but has a superior goal difference of 21 compared to CFC’s 15.
CFC will face the Davao Aguilas, One Taguig will go up against Mendiola FC, and Stallion will clash with Kaya FC in their respective last match of the PFL 2024-2025 season.
The top 2 teams after the double-round robin format will get to represent the Philippines in the 2025-26 AFC Champions League Two, while up for grabs for the top 4 teams in finals series, aside from the silverwares, will be the 2025-26 ASEAN Club Championship or the Shopee Cup.
Man of the Match
CFC’s No. 1 goalkeeper Florencio “Jun” Badelic was aptly named as “Man of the Match” for his crucial role in foiling Stallion’s attempts to equalize.
“It was a hard game, it was a do-or-die game for us, with 2 games left, we needed to win this game, so we gave it all from the first minute up until the last whistle. Credit to the boys, they were willing to die here in the field,” Badelic said during the post-match interview.
Badelic admitted feeling nervous during the last 15 minutes as Stallion still had ample time to level the match. He only became calm when the referee raised the board for extra time.
Badelic dedicated the MOTM honor to his parents as he showed the media the bandages on his wrists in which the words “Mama” and “Papa” were inscribed on the left and on the right, respectively.
Equally proud of his team’s performance was head coach Glenn Ramos who promptly attributed their victory to God.
“The players deserved the win. I am very proud of them. They held on to their winning mentality which is what I kept telling them because we still have a chance to be on the top 3 or 4,” Ramos said.
CFC will be playing their last match on April 12, Saturday, vs. the Davao Aguilas still at the Dynamic HERB-Borromeo Sports Complex. / PR