Manila, Philippines – Maharlika FC, recently fully acquired by M1 International Ltd. of Kaohsiung, came out with guns blazing as it opened its campaign in the 2025-2026 of the Philippines Football League with a 3-2 win over Tuloy sa Don Bosco FC.
Goals came early for Maharlika, courtesy of set pieces accurately delivered by new signing Beomsok Kang in the 6th and 15th minute, both of which were met by the head of returning Maharlika player Michael Menzi. Tuloy pulled one back at the 2nd minute of extra time of the first half, with the rebound off a long shot tapped in by Diaz. The slim lead did little justice to the dominance of Maharlika in the first half, which enjoyed 56% of possession and 16 shots, 6 of which were on target.
The half saw Maharlika make 2 changes, bringing in Eritrean-American Fahmi Ibrahim and local Nicolas Ferrer for Chima Uzoka and Romeo Oppong. The insertion of Ibrahim had an immediate effect, resulting in a goal in the 67th minute. Maharlika’s 3rd goal in this contest was again off a set piece, with Kang delivering the corner, fellow new signing Jinhyeon Kim heading it back across, and Ibrahim at the goal mouth to finish.
“I’m happy we won our opening game of the first round and, and were able to take 3 points. We prepared well during the pre-season and we scored from what we practiced on set pieces which is good. It was good to see Menzi score his two goals from set pieces, and to see Fahmi who recently came from Stallion to make his mark too. I have big expectations of Fahmi and I think he can make a big impression this season in the PFL.” said coach Hong Moon. Maharlika FC is also Coach Moon’s first stint as head coach of a professional football club.
Coach Moon continued: “But it wasn’t up to our standards. Even with the win, our squad is not happy with the performance. It was good to win but we could have done much better. Tuloy really gave us a hard game, and so credit to them for preparing well.”
Team Captain Jorrel Aristorenas echoed Coach Moon’s sentiments, saying “Honestly It wasn’t the performance we expect from ourselves, but football is about results, and we got the three points and that’s what matters most. The exciting part is knowing this team has a much higher ceiling, and we’ll keep working to show that in the games ahead.”
Co-Captain and Man of the Match Winner Michael Menzi had this to say in his post-match interview: “All the hardships of the past 2 months have been worth it, the 2 months that we’ve been preparing. Behind our Club is the management who have been working so hard for us, to give us the chance to play this season. So I’m dedicating this game – this win – to our management.”
Watching the match live from Kaohsiung via YouTube, Maharlika and M1 Chairman Teddy Tsai remarked “I’m glad we got the first game and the first win on the books. Getting the team to this point was already a tremendous achievement for us. The win was the cherry on top for us, and the real reward is putting together a Club with the right foundation.”
