The five clubs competing in this year’s only domestic tournament are bracing for a tight title chase in the Copa Paulino Alcantara which starts Sunday at the PFF National Training Centre in Carmona, Cavite.
United City FC’s sudden withdrawal has given Kaya-Iloilo, Stallion-Laguna, Mendiola FC 1991, Azkals Development Team, and debuting Dynamic Herb-Cebu a window of opportunity to win the cup tournament named after the great FC Barcelona striker.
“Everybody has a chance to win,” said Kaya-Iloilo’s Japanese coach Yu Hoshide during the pre-competition press conference.
Kaya could have the edge over the rest of the field after competing in the AFC Champions League group stage last July in Thailand.
But the inaugural Copa champions remain wary of what lies ahead, beginning with matches against ADT and Mendiola FC 1991 in Group B.
“Maybe the other clubs are training hard, so that’s why we have to give our 100 percent on the field,” said Hoshide, whose club opens the campaign Sunday against ADT and Mendiola on November 10.
ADT, featuring some players who represented the Philippines in the recent AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers, and Mendiola square off in the other Group B match on November 13.
Two semifinal slots are at stake in the group, while the Stallion and Cebu are assured of automatic slots to the knockout stage in Group A following United City’s exit.
Stallion, out to rebound from a last-place finish in the 2020 PFL season, and Cebu dispute the top spot in the group on November 10.
“I hope we do better than last year,” said Stallion coach Ernie Nierras. “We brought some new players n and we also release some of the old players so this will be a new challenge for us.”
The semifinals is on November 16 while the final will be held on November 19. – pfl.org.ph
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