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Kaya Iloilo blows by Mendiola to seal top seed in Copa semis

Jovin Bedic was all smiles after he led Kaya Iloilo's onslaught against Mendiola. PFL
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Kaya Iloilo completed a sweep of Group B play in the Copa Paulino Alcantara group stages after mauling Mendiola, 6-0, in the first match of the Wednesday night doubleheader at the PFF National Training Centre in Carmona.

A Jovin Bedic brace in the first half set the tone for the inaugural tournament champ even as the club netted three goals in each of the two halves to seal the top seed in its group ahead of the semifinals next week.

Bedic capitalized on an erroneous Mendiola attempt to keep the ball out of his reach and quickly raced inside the penalty box to open the scoring for Kaya Iloilo in the 11th minute.

Bedic then finished the job for Daizo Horikoshi in the 35th minute when he received the assist off a tough pass from the goal line for the 2-0 count.

Ryo Fujji joined Kaya Iloilo's scoring barrage in the 40th minute when he picked a Daniel Ashley pass and slotted the ball from just outside the penalty area to make it 3-0.

Horikoshi played the facilitator again for Kaya Iloilo's fourth goal in the 63rd minute, this time giving a beautiful feed to Kenshiro Daniels.

Horikoshi's efforts were finally rewarded in the 83rd minute when he blitzed past the Mendiola backline, leaving only Mendiola keeper Michael Asong to beat which he eventually did, and made it 5-0.

Carlyle Mitchell then put the icing on the cake for Kaya Iloilo when he scored a header off a corner kick right at the final minute of stoppage time.

Kaya Iloilo will now await on which club between Stallion Laguna and Cebu FC will falter in the lone match for Group A later Wednesday.

With United Clark backing out of the competition due to matters regarding its AFC club license, both Stallion Laguna and Cebu FC are automatically through to the semis with their match determining which team will enter as the top seed.

Mendiola, on the other hand, will battle the Azkals Development Team on Saturday night to determine the final member of the semifinal cast.

With the result, however, the ADT gets another lifeline as the team can advance with a draw due to a superior goal difference, making this a win-or-go-home match for Mendiola for the right to face the Stallion Laguna-Cebu winner.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno

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