The final of the third season of the

Copa Paulino Alcantara The Copa Paulino Alcantara, also known as the PFL Cup, is a football tournament in the Philippines, organized by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It is contested by the clubs of the Philippines Football League (PFL), along with guest clu ...

was contested by the

Azkals Development Team The Azkals Development Team, commonly referred to as ADT, is a Philippine developmental football club that last competed in Philippines Football League, before officially withdrawing from the competition in May 2023. Founded in 2020, the team ...

and

Kaya F.C.–Iloilo Kaya Futbol Club–Iloilo (), or simply Kaya–Iloilo, is a Filipino professional football club based in Iloilo City. They currently play in the Philippines Football League, the highest tier of football in the Philippines. The club has won 3 ...

on 19 November 2021 on neutral ground at the

PFF National Training Center The PFF National Training Center or the National Football Center is a football ground at the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park in Carmona, Cavite. History Plans to construct a football facility in Carmona, Cavite were announced as early as ...

Carmona, Cavite Carmona (), officially the City of Carmona (), is a Cities of the Philippines, component city in the Philippine Province, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 106,256 people. Carmona is also th ...

Background

Both ADT and Kaya–Iloilo were drawn to Group B along with

Mendiola Mendiola Street (or simply "Mendiola") is a short thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. The street is named after Enrique Mendiola, the pedagogue, author of textbooks, educator and member of the first Board of Regents of the University of the ...

for the 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara. Both teams faced against each other in their first match of the tournament. Kaya–Iloilo prevailed 2–0 over ADT. Kaya–Iloilo finished on the top of the group after winning 6–0 over Mendiola qualifying for the semifinals. ADT also qualified after routing Mendiola 9–0. ADT and Kaya–Iloilo figured against the only two teams of Group A;

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

and Stallion Laguna. The third team of that group,

United City United City is a group of businesses based within Greater Manchester, England, who supported proposals for congestion charging in Greater Manchester via the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund bid for £3 billion. The bid was rejec ...

, withdrew assuring the remaining teams a place in the semifinals. In the semifinals, ADT won 2–1 in

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

against Stallion Laguna after initially trailing by a goal, while Kaya–Iloilo scored the solitary goal in the late minutes of their semifinal match against Cebu through a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

Route to the final

Match summary

The 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara final was held on November 19, 2021 in the

in Carmona,

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

. No spectators were allowed due to the restrictions imposed by the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines The COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , there have been reported cases, and reported deaths, the fift ...

. ADT were without the service of their captain

Jarvey Gayoso Javier Augustine "Jarvey" Ocampo Gayoso (; born February 11, 1997) is a Filipino professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Cambodian Premier League club Phnom Penh Crown and the Philippines national team. Early life and educati ...

, who scored six goals in the tournament after he suffered from a hamstring injury during the second half of ADT's semifinal match against Stallion Laguna. Kaya–Iloilo last clinched the Copa Paulino Alcantara title in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, when it won against

Davao Aguilas Davao may refer to: Places Cities and metropolitan areas *Davao City, an independent highly urbanized city in the Davao Region of Mindanao island, Philippines and Davao del Sur's largest city *Metro Davao, the metropolitan area centered on Davao ...

in extra time in that tournament's

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. The match was disrupted by a power interruption but the match resumed after the issue was resolved. Both Kaya–Iloilo and the ADT were evenly matched in the first half, with Mar Diano clearing a shot from

Jovin Bedic Jovin Hervas Bedic (born June 8, 1990) is a Filipino professional footballer who plays as a forward or a winger for Philippines Football League club Kaya-Iloilo and the Philippines national team. Early life Bedic was born in Barotac Nuev ...

off the line. In the 47th minute a lofted cross from

Simone Rota Simone Mondiali Rota (born November 6, 1984) is a Filipino footballer who plays as a right back for Philippines Football League club Kaya-Iloilo. Early life Rota was left in an orphanage of Buklod Kalinga run by Franciscan sisters in Parañaq ...

fell to Kenshiro Daniels, who poked it in the net to make it 1–0 in favor of Kaya–Iloilo. The ADT pushed for an equalizer and nearly got it when Mar Diano's header narrowly went over the crossbar. Despite more chances for the ADT, Kaya managed to hold on and eventually secured their 2nd ever Copa title. The match ended in favor of Kaya–Iloilo, with a 1–0 scoreline. In doing so, Kaya became the first ever team to win the Copa Paulino Alcantara without conceding a single goal, scoring 10 goals in the process. Kaya also qualified as the country's representative in the

2022 AFC Champions League The 2022 AFC Champions League was the 41st edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 20th under the current AFC Champions League title. This edition was the last in an all-y ...

qualifying round, as well as earning a direct ticket to the

2022 AFC Cup The 2022 AFC Cup was the 19th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club association football, football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). This season was the last in an all-year-round (spring-to-autumn) schedule; ...

References

{{2021 in Asian football (AFC) Final 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara Final