The final match of the first ever Copa Paulino Alcantara Finals was between Kaya Iloilo Futbol Club and Davao Aguilas Bellmare Football Club. Kaya Iloilo FC emerged as the eventual winners after getting the lone goal in a very long and enduring match.
From a viewer’s standpoint, ball possession throughout the match was almost equal. In the first half, Kaya was attacking the Davao defence almost non stop. Kaya was also awarded several free kicks on dangerous spots due to their fierce thirst of the ball.
On the second half, the tables have turned and Kaya was forced to be in an almost full defensive formation with only Lopez Mendy left as their counter attacking option. Davao’s hunger for their first AFC Cup appearance as a club was clearly visible as they also gave Kaya a lot of attacking plays to defend. It is also worth noting that the two most recognisable names in the Azkals, the Younghusband brothers, still have never competed in any AFC club competition.
Shots were fired from both ends of the field, with no one finding the back of the net. Davao’s goalkeeper was teased twice by shots that hit exactly the top right corner of the crossbar. The long awaited game winning goal came from a Jovin Bedic shot in the 119th minute of extra time against a 10 man Davao FC due to a late double yellow for Wesley Dos Santos.
Due to their victory in the Cup, Kaya will be given an automatic spot in next year’s AFC Cup competition.
The groups were drawn based on the performance of the clubs during the regular season; Pot A which consists of the Top 2 seeded teams, and Pot B for the 4 remaining PFL competing teams. Group A consists of PFL Champions Ceres – Negros FC (1), Davao Aguilas Bellmare FC (3), and Stallion Laguna FC (4). Group B consists of PFL runners-up Kaya Iloilo Futbol Club (2), JPV Marikina FC (5), Global Cebu FC (6).
Kaya Iloilo FC and Davao Aguilas Bellmare FC went into the finals by getting back to back wins against Stallion Laguna FC (4-2 agg) and JPV Marikina (10-1 agg) respectively.
For more photos of the event, check out the link: Copa Paulino Alcantara Finals 2018 (10/27/18)
Article by: Mari Tirazona 🙂
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