By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo regained the no. 1 spot in the 2022-2023 Philippines Football League (PFL) after a 3-2 escape over Azkals Development Team at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, April 15.

Daizo Horikoshi unloaded two goals, while Jarvey Gayoso added a conversion as the Iloilo City-based booters grabbed the top spot back with 45 points in 15 victories and three losses.

Gayoso opened the scoring for Kaya-Iloilo as he used his left foot to score from inside the box in the 18th minute, but Azkals managed to tie the score three minutes later courtesy of Andres Aldeguer.

Kaya-Iloilo regained the upperhand after the halftime break as Horikoshi knocked in a steal by Jhan Melliza for a 2-1 lead. Horikoshi added to it a few possessions later as he scored from the left crossbar.

However, Azkals refused to give up as Pocholo Bugas converted from close range in the 69th minute, but they missed multiple opportunities to tie the match as the final whistle was blown.

Kaya-Iloilo head coach Yu Hoshide said they are hoping that their winning run will continue as they close in on their first-ever league championship with just five games left in their schedule.

“In the third round, we had more slow-start games compared to last year’s first and second rounds, so we are working on improving that area of our game in practice every day,” Hoshide said.

“We knew that we would have a hard time against Azkals because they are really a good possession team, but the team is glad that we came out as the victor,” he added.

With the win, Kaya-Iloilo completed a four-game sweep of the Azkals this season after a 1-0 win on August 7, 2022, 1-0 victory on October 1, 2022, and a 3-1 triumph last March 18.

Up next for the Iloilo City-based football club is no. 2 ranked Dynamic Herb Cebu Football Club in a match that will play a crucial role in the two team’s title aspirations on Sunday, April 23./ASC, WDJ