MANILA, Philippines - Alabang scored a decisive victory over Royal Northwoods then clinched the final playoff spot when Tagaytay Highlands played the spoiler’s role by ousting defending champion Riviera in the Men’s Federation League matches recently.
The Alabang squad secured the second spot in Group 1 with a 5-3-0 win-loss-draw record for 15 points, clinching the fifth seeding in the home-and-away playoff rounds starting this week where they are slated to meet No. 4 Forest Hills.
Out of the running with no wins in its first seven games, Tagaytay Highlands couldn’t have found a much better way to redeem itself when it ended its campaign with a rousing win over Riviera.
Riviera went into the match needing no less than 3.5 points to salvage a spot in the playoff stage and keep its back-to-back title bid alive. It went the other way around as Tagaytay prevailed, 3-2, and also ended the season for the defending champions.
Royal Northwoods, as the top qualifier in Group 1 with 16 points on a 5-2-1 mark, tackles Eastridge, the second qualifier in Group 2 with 15 points on a 5-3-0 record.
Wack Wack and Valley, which clinched automatic semifinals slots as the top two teams after the eliminations, will wait for the results of this week’s quarterfinals.
Wack Wack, as the No. 1 seed with 21 points on a 7-1-0 record, will battle the winner of the Forest Hills-Alabang tiff.
while Valley, back in the finals after losing to Riviera last year, will face the victor of the Northwoods-Eastridge matchup.
Of the eight teams which made it to playoff rounds, only Eastridge and Valley have yet to win the championship.