# 2018 Philippines Football League

The 2018 Philippines Football League was the second season of the Philippines Football League (PFL), the professional football league of the Philippines. The season started on March 3 and concluded on August 25. The league was contested by six teams from last season's eight, after Meralco Manila and Ilocos United withdrew before the season began.
Ceres–Negros won their second consecutive league title on July 25 with three matches to spare.
Due to several issues with the league—such as the expensive home-and-away format as well as the lack of sponsors and TV coverage—the PFL was abolished after the 2018 season and was replaced by the Philippine Premier League. However, the Philippine Premier League also had numerous issues and was folded after only a single match day. The PFL was then renewed for a third season in 2019.

## Changes from 2017

For this season, the league discontinued the play-off final, or the Final Series due to the introduction of the Copa Paulino Alcantara, the domestic cup tournament which was held after the league season. Thus, the PFL became a pure quintuple round-robin tournament where each club played the others five times—each club playing 25 games.

## Teams

The eight clubs which participated in the inaugural season were granted license to partake in the 2018 season by November 2017. However, on January 8, 2018, FC Meralco Manila ceased operations in the senior club level and on January 18 Ilocos United F.C. announced their withdrawal from the league leaving only 6 teams for the 2018 season.

### Stadiums and locations

On February 6, 2018, Kaya F.C. transferred from Makati to Iloilo.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Ceres–Negros | Bacolod | Panaad Stadium | 8,000 |
| Davao Aguilas | Tagum, Davao del Norte | Davao del Norte Sports Complex | 3,000 |
| Global Cebu | Cebu City | Cebu City Sports Complex | |
| JPV Marikina | Marikina, Metro Manila | Marikina Sports Complex | 15,000 |
| Kaya–Iloilo (Kaya–Makati; until April 2018) | Makati, Metro Manila (until April 2018) | University of Makati Stadium | 4,000 |
| Kaya–Iloilo (Kaya–Makati; until April 2018) | Iloilo City (May 2018 onwards) | Iloilo Sports Complex | 7,000 |
| Stallion Laguna | Biñan, Laguna | Biñan Football Stadium | 2,580 |
| Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Manila | Rizal Memorial Stadium | 12,873 |
| Biñan, Laguna | Biñan Football Stadium | 2,580 |
| Carmona, Cavite | PFF National Training Centre | 1,200 |
* Home venues of PFL clubs
* Kaya–IloiloCeres NegrosGlobal CebuStallion LagunaDavao AguilasJPV Marikina

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsors |
| Ceres–Negros | Risto Vidaković | Martin Steuble | Adidas | Ceres Liner |
| Davao Aguilas | Melchor Anzures | Phil Younghusband | Made by club | San Miguel Corporation, Tapa King |
| Global Cebu | Dragutin Stević-Ranković | Darryl Roberts | LGR | TrackMate |
| JPV Marikina | Dan Padernal | Atsushi Shimono | LGR | JK Mart, BranchForth, Santouka Ramen |
| Kaya FC–Iloilo | Noel Marcaida | Miguel Tanton | LGR | LBC, Fitness First |
| Stallion Laguna | Ernest Nierras | Ruben Doctora | Nixáre | Giligan's Restaurant |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Global Cebu | Akbar Nawas | End of Contract | January 11, 2018 | Pre-season | Marjo Allado (interim) | January 11, 2018 |
| Davao Aguilas | Marlon Maro | Resigned | May 29, 2018 | 3rd | Melchor Anzures | May 29, 2018 |
| Global Cebu | Marjo Allado (interim) | Resigned | August 4, 2018 | 6th | Dragutin Stević-Ranković | August 18, 2018 |

## Foreign players

A maximum of four foreigners are allowed per club which follows the Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) '3+1 rule'; three players of any nationality and a fourth coming from an AFC member nation.
Players name in bold indicates the player was registered during the mid-season transfer window.
| Club | Players | Players | Players | Players | Former Players |
| Ceres–Negros | Toni Doblas | Bienvenido Marañón | Blake Powell | Súper | Takumi Uesato |
| Davao Aguilas | Kim Sungmin | Brad McDonald | Tahj Minniecon | Wesley dos Santos | Takashi Odawara Harry Sawyer Diego Alves |
| Global Cebu | Lee Jeong-min | Adam Mitter | Milan Nikolić | Darryl Roberts | Rufo Sánchez Wesley dos Santos |
| JPV Marikina | Keigo Moriyasu | Atsushi Shimono | Tsubasa Suzuki | Takumi Uesato | Ryuki Kozawa |
| Kaya–Iloilo | Serge Kaole | Robert Lopez Mendy | Masanari Omura | Alfred Osei | Jordan Mintah |
| Stallion Laguna | Ko Kyung-joon | Carlo Polli | Abou Sy | Yu Sung-Na | Gabriele Mascazzini Ken Kensei |
* ^1 Former players only include players who left after either the start of the 2018 season or the 2018 Copa Paulino Alcantara.
* ^2 Also a holder of AFC nationality (Australia)
Foreign players by confederation :
| AFC | Japan (5), South Korea (4), Australia (2) |
| CAF | Ghana (1), Senegal (2), Cameroon (1) |
| CONCACAF | Trinidad and Tobago (1) |
| CONMEBOL | Brazil (1) |
| OFC | Papua New Guinea (1) |
| UEFA | Spain (3), Switzerland (1), Serbia (1), England (1) |
* ^3 Brad McDonald has both Australia and Papua New Guinea FIFA nationality.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Ceres–Negros (C) | 25 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 66 | 25 | +41 | 60 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League Preliminary Round 1 or AFC Cup Group Stage |
| 2 | Kaya–Iloilo | 25 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 58 | 32 | +26 | 49 | |
| 3 | Davao Aguilas | 25 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 52 | 39 | +13 | 39 | |
| 4 | Stallion Laguna | 25 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 36 | |
| 5 | JPV Marikina | 25 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 46 | 63 | −17 | 20 | |
| 6 | Global Cebu | 25 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 18 | 85 | −67 | 5 | |
* ↑ Three points were deducted from Stallion Laguna due to the club's failure to comply with Liga Futbol Inc. Disciplinary Committee’s Decision No. 010318DC03.
* ↑ Three points were deducted from JPV Marikina due to the club's failure to comply with Liga Futbol Inc. Disciplinary Committee’s Decision No. 010318DC02.

## Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Ceres–Negros | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kaya–Iloilo | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Davao Aguilas | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Stallion Laguna | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| JPV Marikina | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Global Cebu | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
* AFC Champions League Preliminary Round/AFC Cup Group Stage

## Results by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Ceres–Negros | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | L | W | W |
| Davao Aguilas | D | W | D | W | W | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | W | W | L | D | L | D | W | D | W | W | W | D |
| Global Cebu | L | L | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L |
| JPV Marikina | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | W | L | D | L | L | W | W | L | W | L | L |
| Kaya–Iloilo | D | L | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | D | L | W | W | W | D | L | L | W | W | W | D | W | W |
| Stallion Laguna | L | W | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | W | W | D | W | W | W | D | D | L |

## Results

The six clubs will play each other in two rounds of home and away matches. The final round hosting will be via drawing of lots. 75 league matches will be played in total.

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top goalscorers

    As of August 30, 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Robert Lopez Mendy | Kaya–Iloilo | 18 |
| 2 | Bienvenido Marañón | Ceres–Negros | 15 |
| 3 | Phil Younghusband | Davao Aguilas | 13 |
| 4 | Keigo Moriyasu | JPV Marikina | 11 |
| 5 | James Younghusband | Davao Aguilas | 10 |
| 6 | Jovin Bedic | Kaya–Iloilo | 9 |
| 6 | Mike Ott | Ceres–Negros | 9 |
| 6 | Carlo Polli | Stallion Laguna | 9 |
| 9 | J Baguioro | JPV Marikina | 8 |
| 9 | Jesus Melliza | Stallion Laguna | 8 |
| 9 | Kim Sung-Min | Davao Aguilas | 8 |

#### Top assists

    As of August 30, 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Phil Younghusband | Davao Aguilas | 13 |
| 2 | Mike Ott | Ceres–Negros | 11 |
| 3 | Miguel Tanton | Kaya–Iloilo | 10 |
| 4 | Jovin Bedic | Kaya–Iloilo | 9 |
| 4 | Manny Ott | Ceres–Negros | 9 |
| 6 | Matthew Hartmann | Davao Aguilas | 8 |
| 6 | Jesus Melliza | Stallion Laguna | 8 |
| 6 | Keigo Moriyasu | JPV Marikina | 8 |
| 9 | Robert Lopez Mendy | Kaya–Iloilo | 6 |
| 10 | Fitch Arboleda | Stallion Laguna | 5 |
| 10 | Tyler Matas | Davao Aguilas | 5 |
| 10 | OJ Porteria | Ceres–Negros | 5 |
| 10 | Patrick Reichelt | Ceres–Negros | 5 |
| 10 | Stephan Schröck | Ceres–Negros | 5 |
| 10 | James Younghusband | Davao Aguilas | 5 |

#### Own goals

    As of August 22, 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Own goals |
| 1 | Terence Linatoc | Stallion Laguna | 1 |
| 1 | Tsubasa Suzuki | JPV Marikina | 1 |
| 1 | Reynald Villareal | Stallion Laguna | 1 |
| 1 | Ko Kyung-joon | Stallion Laguna | 1 |

### Hat-tricks

    As of August 22, 2018
| Player | Club | Result | Against | Date |
| Jordan Mintah | Kaya–Iloilo | 4–1 (A) | JPV Marikina | May 5, 2018 |
| Robert Lopez Mendy | Kaya–Iloilo | 4–2 (H) | Davao Aguilas | May 20, 2018 |
| Robert Lopez Mendy | Kaya–Iloilo | 4–2 (H) | JPV Marikina | June 27, 2018 |
| Jovin Bedic | Kaya–Iloilo | 4–2 (H) | Stallion Laguna | July 4, 2018 |
| Bienvenido Marañón | Ceres–Negros | 6–1 (H) | Global Cebu | July 25, 2018 |
| Keigo Moriyasu | JPV Marikina | 11–1 (A) | Global Cebu | August 1, 2018 |
| Jay Baguioro | JPV Marikina | 11–1 (A) | Global Cebu | August 1, 2018 |

#### Note

(H) – Home; (A) – Away

### Clean sheets

    As of August 29, 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Toni Doblas | Ceres–Negros | 7 |
| 2 | Nathanael Villanueva | Kaya–Iloilo | 4 |
| 3 | Patrick Deyto | Davao Aguilas | 3 |
| 4 | Ronilo Bayan Jr. | Davao Aguilas | 2 |
| 4 | Nick O'Donnell | Davao Aguilas | 2 |
| 4 | Felipe Tripulca | Stallion Laguna | 2 |
| 7 | Zach Banzon | Kaya–Iloilo | 1 |
| 7 | Ref Cuaresma | Kaya–Iloilo | 1 |
| 7 | Nelson Gasic | JPV Marikina | 1 |
| 7 | Hayeson Pepito | Stallion Laguna | 1 |
| 7 | Benito Rosalia | Stallion Laguna | 1 |

### Discipline
#### Red cards

    As of August 23, 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Red Cards |
| 1 | Alfred Osei | Kaya–Iloilo | 2 |
| 1 | Omid Nazari | Ceres–Negros | 2 |
| 1 | Robert Lopez Mendy | Kaya–Iloilo | 2 |
| 4 | Rufo Sanchez | Global Cebu | 1 |
| 4 | Dennis Villanueva | Davao Aguilas | 1 |
| 4 | Adam Reed | Davao Aguilas | 1 |
| 4 | Jason Cordova | Stallion Laguna | 1 |
| 4 | Camelo Tacusalme | Kaya–Iloilo | 1 |
| 4 | Robert Cañedo | JPV Marikina | 1 |
| 4 | Shirmar Felongco | Kaya–Iloilo | 1 |
| 4 | Angelo Marasigan | Global Cebu | 1 |
| 4 | OJ Porteria | Ceres–Negros | 1 |
| 4 | Louie Casas | Ceres–Negros | 1 |
| 4 | Mike Ott | Ceres–Negros | 1 |
| 4 | Milan Nikolić | Global Cebu | 1 |