Kaya-Iloilo will now only need to beat Australian club Sydney FC in their preliminary round match next week to secure a spot in the group stage of the AFC Champions League.
The Asian Football Confederation announced that the winner of the March 8 meeting between Kaya and host Sydney at the Jubilee Oval will go straight to Group H following the withdrawal of Chinese side Changchun Yatai.
Changchun was supposed to face either Kaya or Sydney in a playoff on March 15 to determine the team that goes to the ACL group stage.
Awaiting are two-time Champions League winner Jeonbuk Motors of South Korea, Yokohama F Marinos of Japan and Hoang Anh Gia Lai of Vietnam in Group H which will be played next month in Ho Chi Minh.
A loss to Sydney will relegate the Copa Paulino Alcantara champions to the second-tier AFC Cup where they are assured of a spot in Group G with Indonesia’s Bali United, Malaysia’s Kedah Darul Aman and Cambodia’s Visakha FC.
It would be recalled that Kaya also needed just one victory to make the ACL group stage after the pullout of preliminary round opponent Brisbane Roar.
Kaya would later beat Chinese club Shanghai Port to become the second Filipino club to reach the Champions League group stage, joining United City.
The club beefed up its lineup after the successful run in the Copa with the additions of Jarvey Gayoso, Sandro Reyes, Oskari Kekkonen and Mar Diano from the Azkals Development Team.
Kaya also brought back Senegalese striker Robert Lopez Mendy while also adding midfielder Jesse Curran.