Slumping Loyola Sparks try to regain solo second spot as it takes on Army

By Karlo Sacamos

LOYOLA Meralco takes a leaf out of the Kaya FC playbook as it faces Philippine Army in the hope of reviving its title campaign in the United Football League on Saturday at the Emperador Stadium.
After Kaya focused on its performances rather than results when it suffered its own string of disappointments, it’s the struggling Sparks’ turn to do that as they try to start afresh in the third round of the tournament against the Troopers.
Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. with the Sparks trying to regain solo second spot away from Kaya.
“It’s easy for you to get lost in such a long league, thinking about where you are, where you stand, how many points this, how many points that,” said Sparks coach Vince Santos, whose team is coming off three disappointing results, the latest a 1-3 loss to Kaya.
“So I think we agreed we should start forgetting counting totals and whatnot. We should stop looking at results of others and just focus on ourselves,” he added. “That’s the proper mentality for us to have moving forward.”
Getting back on the winning track, however, is easier said than done as the Sparks take on a sixth-running military squad that’s coming off a 2-1 win over Pasargad.
Loyola, though, is undefeated the Troopers after scoring 5-1 and 3-1 victories in the first two rounds.
Earlier, Pachanga, running seventh, and second-to-last Socceroo collide at 6:15 p.m. as the two bottom-half squads try to end their respective second-round campaigns on a bright note.

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