THE first-ever Copa Paulino Alcantara comes to a conclusion this weekend with the final to be played between Davao Aguilas FC and Kaya FC-Iloilo.
The top teams from the two groups at the end of the elimination round, Davao and Kaya now settle the score on which of them is to be crowned champion in their one-game championship clash on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 5 p.m. at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Group A leaders Aguilas lorded their way to the final, routing JPV Marikina FC, 6-1, in their semifinal match on Oct. 21.
Korean Kim Sungmin scored four goals in the Davao victory to help his team make its way to the final.
Group B top team Kaya, meanwhile, survived a tough challenge from Stallion Laguna FC in their own crossover semifinal clash also on Sunday, winning, 3-2.
Senegalese Robert Lopez Mendy scored a hat trick as Kaya fended off Stallion as they booked their spot in the final.
The winner of the Copa, named after the legendary football player Paulino Alcantara who hailed from Iloilo and played for FC Barcelona, gets to represent the Philippines in the 2019 AFC Cup.
Other teams that saw action in the Copa were Philippines Football League champion Ceres-Negros FC and Global Cebu FC. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
