The final of the third season of the

Copa Paulino Alcantara The Copa Paulino Alcantara, also known as the PFL Cup, is an annual football tournament in Philippines, sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation. The cup's first iteration began on September 1, 2018. It replaced the PFF National Men's Club ...

was contested by the

Azkals Development Team The Azkals Development Team, commonly referred to as ADT, is a Philippine developmental football club that competes in the Philippines Football League. Founded in 2020, the team is under the control of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), b ...

and

Kaya F.C.–Iloilo Kaya Futbol Club–Iloilo (, also known as Una Kaya Futbol Club, Inc.,) is a Philippines, Filipino professional association football, football club based in Iloilo City. They play in the Philippines Football League (PFL), the highest tier of foo ...

on 19 November 2021 on neutral ground at the PFF National Training Center in

Carmona, Cavite Carmona, officially the Municipality of Carmona ( tgl, Bayan ng Carmona), is a 1st class municipality located in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 106,256 people. Etymology When Silang ...

Background

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

Mendiola Mendiola Street (simply known as "Mendiola") is a short thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. The street is named after Enrique Mendiola, an educator, textbook author, and member of the first Board of Regents of the University of the Philippi ...

for the

2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara The 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara was the third edition of the Copa Paulino Alcantara, the domestic football cup competition of the Philippines. United City (then called Ceres–Negros) won the previous edition in 2019, but withdrew from the 2021 ...

. 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 (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

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 rejecte ...

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

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport 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 onl ...

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

final was held on November 19, 2021 in the PFF National Training Center in

Carmona Carmona may refer to: Places Angola * the former name of the town of Uíge Costa Rica * Carmona District, Nandayure, a district in Guanacaste Province India * Carmona, Goa, a village located in the Salcette district of South Goa, India ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

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

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines The COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines has resulted in, as of , reported cases, resulting in reported deaths, the fifth-highest in Southeast Asia, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The first case in the Philippines was iden ...

. 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 Philippines Football League (PFL) club Kaya–Iloilo and the Philippines national team. He played in the col ...

, 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 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, when it won against Davao Aguilas in extra time in that tournament's

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. 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 Mar Vincent Azuero Diano (born 24 July 1997) is a Filipino professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Philippines Football League club Kaya–Iloilo and the Philippines national team. College career Diano attended the University of ...

clearing a shot from

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

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 defender or a midfielder for Philippines Football League club Kaya-Iloilo. Early life Rota was left in an orphanage of Buklod Kalinga run by Franciscan sist ...

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 is the 41st edition of Asia's premier club association football, football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 20th under the current AFC Champions League title. This season is offi ...

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 football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). This season was the last in an all-year-round (spring-to-autumn) schedule; from 2023 the competit ...

References

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