Former national team standout Jason Sabio headed home the match-winner in the 75th minute as Ceres La Salle slipped past Manila Jeepney, 3-2, Wednesday night to reach the quarterfinals of the UFL Football Alliance League Cup at Emperador Stadium.
Sabio’s first goal for the Bacolod side couldn’t have come at a better time as Arnel Amita engineered a comeback from two goals down for Manila Jeepney after early goals from Kim Jin-ho and Adrian Gallardo looked to have wrapped up the win for Ceres.
It was Ceres’ fourth win in as many games, ensuring its place in the quarterfinals where the pairings will be determined by another draw.
Over at Rizal Memorial Stadium, Loyola Meralco rallied from two goals down to subdue Pachanga Diliman, 3-2, to also close in on a quarterfinal berth.
Jinggoy Valmayor scored on a couple of brilliant individual efforts early in the second half, before the Sparks snatched all three points with goals from James Younghusband, Phil Younghusband and Graham Caygill in a 15-minute span.
Team Socceroo, buoyed by a virtuoso performance from Iranian striker Masood Shadideh, also inched closer to a quarterfinal berth with a comfortable 3-0 win over Forza.