The Philippine Football League ended their Week #2 action this Sunday, September 14 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium where the last batch of teams to debut this season finally played.
Eldwin Escosora and Ruben Doctora Helps Valenzuela PB Collect Their Debut Win
For the 1st game on a rainy Sunday, the Valenzuela PB – Mendiola FC finally made their 2025-26 debut as they went up against the Philippine Army FC.
Last August 30, Kaya Iloilo absolutely destroyed the Philippine Army with a score of 12-0.
Photo Credits: PFL via FB
The decisive moment came in the 32nd minute, when Ruben Doctora struck to hand Valenzuela all three points. Despite Army’s attempts to equalize during the 2nd half of action, Mendiola’s defense stayed organized to preserve the clean sheet.
FINAL SCORE: Valenzuela PB 1 – 0 Philippine Army
Despite not scoring a goal, Eldwin Escosora was named the player of the match and cites that Valenzuela’s performance is still going through some adjustments despite getting the 3 points and the win.
“Hindi siya naging madali para sa amin, ang daming adjustments kase hindi pa ganun kabuo mag laro yung team. Marami pang kailangang trabahuhin sa next upcoming games.”
He then gave a special mention to the Valenzuela fans in his post game interview.
“Shoutout po sa mga nag susupport po sa amin, maraming maraming salamat po. Ingat po.”
Ismaila Diallo and Yuga Watanabe Both Showcased Their Scoring in Manila vs Stallion
In the final game of the Sunday evening, it will be the debut match for this season between Manila Diggers FC and Stallion Laguna FC.
After a scoreless 1st half, the match saw Stallion Laguna break the deadlock just three minutes into the second half when Ismaila Diallo converted to give his side the lead.
Despite Manila Digger’s persistent pressure, Stallion held firm until the dying minutes.
In the final moments of injury time, Yuga Watanabe pounced on a loose ball and fired a half-volley past goalkeeper Jack Landreth, stunning Stallion Laguna and denying them a statement win.
FINAL SCORE: Manila Diggers 1 – 1 Stallion Laguna
The draw pushed the last seasons’ runner ups Manila Digger into second place with four points, trailing league leaders Kaya–Iloilo, who remained perfect with six points following their 1–0 victory over Davao Aguilas on Saturday through a Mike Ott header.
Photo Credits: Manila Diggers FC via FB
In his post game interview, Diallo was honest with the teams’ unfamiliarity with each other.
“I think its a good game. Our team has only been together since last week so we’re gonna have revisions. Manila Diggers is a strong team, it’s not just 4 guys in our team, we all worked hard together. We were unlucky to concede at the end but we got something very good to put in from this game.”
He then vowed that Stallion Laguna will pick the good sides from this game and will use it to become better.
“Our preparation is going to be the same you know, we got a bit tight at the back you know… we going to understand how each other plays but there’ll come a time since our coach is working hard there will be something good to put on.”
Up Next: Week #3 on September 20 and 21
Week #3 action continues for PFL on the weekend of September 20 and 21 and will still play in the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Saturday:
- 1st Game – Tuloy FC vs Garelli United FC
- 2nd Game – Stallion Laguna FC vs Cebu FC
- 3rd Game – Manila Digger vs Maharlika FC
Sunday:
- 1st Game – Kaya FC vs Valenzuela PB
- 2nd Game – One Taguig FC vs Aguilas UMak FC
