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| Mark Cristino/UFL (file photo) |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--League-leading Ceres will clash again with fellow championship contender Loyola as the second round of the United Football League season will commence at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
Topping the league table with 24 points, Ceres will look to repeat its 5-2 victory over fifth-placed Loyola last Apr. 11, where Adrian Gallardo's hat trick ignited Ceres' breakaway.
Loyola, however, will be shorthanded for the 7:45 p.m. match as Phil Younghusband and Anthony Putrus-Schnell will not play due to respective suspensions.
Younghusband got the ban after getting a red card in Loyola's 3-3 draw with Kaya on Apr. 19, while Putrus-Schnell incurred his own sanction due to the accumulative yellow cards rule.
Expected to step up for both Younghusband and Putrus-Schnell are new recruits Brad Grayson and Napo Bustillo.
Curt Dizon, on the other hand, will finally get the go-signal to play for Loyola after an essential trade with Global for Matthew Hartmann earlier in the season even as Jake Morallo will make a Loyola return together with fellow transfer window pick-ups Saba Garmaroudi and Alvin Sarmiento.
In the other league match at 5:15 p.m., Green Archers will try to keep its own championship hopes alive as it battles Pachanga.
The two matches will be part of a four-game fight card in the said field as the U-17 semifinals will take place in the morning.
Kaya and Mendiola take on each other at 8 a.m. followed by the other U-17 semifinal between Nomads and Green Archers at 10:15 a.m.
