Football
Loyola continues Singapore Cup campaign against Myanmar club
AKTV/Jojo Lirio Jr.
After its failed title bid in the United Football League, the Loyola Meralco Sparks will now turn their attention to their campaign in the 2012 Singapore Cup quarterfinals this July.
The Sparks, who settled for a third-place finish in the UFL, will battle Myanmar club Kanbawza FC over two legs on July 5 and July 8 at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore.
“We failed to clinch the UFL league title so the boys are now focused on extending our run in the Singapore Cup,” Sparks president Randy Roxas told InterAKTV.
Loyola barged into the quarterfinals after defeating Singapore club Geylang United FC last May behind the heroics of South Korean import Park Min-Ho, who scored the winning goal in extra time to lift the Sparks to a 2-1 victory.
Kanbawza, meanwhile, notched a 2-1 triumph over Woodlands Wellington FC, another Singapore club, to qualify for the next round.
The Sparks now face a tough task in defending Myanmar football star striker Soe Min Oo, who sank a goal in the third minute to lift Kanbawza to the quarterfinals.
Aside from Azkals stars Phil and James Younghusband, Loyola will also be bannered by national players as Anto Gonzales, Roxy Dorlas and Jake Morallo.
The 2012 Singapore Cup features S.League team alongside foreign clubs from Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Myanmar in a bracket tournament.
Loyola is the only UFL squad competing in the Singapore Cup, and the first Philippine club to participate in the regional competition.
