The expanded Copa Paulino Alcantara kicks off this Saturday and will feature 17 teams with a mix of Armed Forces, Collegiate, amateur, and Philippines Football League teams that will play in three different groups and will battle out for a spot in the knock-out stages.
To begin the cup, Don Bosco Garelli will look to open their campaign on a high when they face Philippine Air Force FC in the first game of Group A at 4:00 PM at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Both Don Bosco Garelli’s Karl Claudio and Philippine Air Force’s Erwin Oro sees the opening of the Cup as their chance to showcase their talents.
“We’re looking forward to competing with all the teams especially with the powerhouses,” said Claudio. “We would want to take this experience as part of the team’s growth especially in football.”
“We’re very excited to be back on the pitch to represent the armed forces,” said Oro.
Tuloy FC and Philippine Army, both from Group C will also go head to head in the second game of match day at 6:30 PM. Tuloy aims to showcase promising football program while Philippine Army marks its return in the top flight after a long absence in the competitive football scene.
Tuloy head coach Taketomo Suzuki look to have a good outing from their side as they aim to show the fruit of the hard work over the years. Meanwhile, Philippine Army’s Ricardo Becite is just delighted to see a new-look Army back in the Cup.
“We want to showcase what we’ve been doing for 6 years,” said Suzuki. “We’ve been preparing for this kind of competition to play against top clubs in the Philippines.”
“We will try our best to play well during the games,” said Becite. “We are the new Army team, a different image.”
For match day two, Davao Aguilas – UMak will re-introduce themselves once again as they face a collegiate team Adamson University at 4:30 PM at the same venue. Both clubs belong to Group C. The returning Aguilas aim to continue what they started last 2017 while the Soaring Falcons will prove themselves that they can also keep up with the high level of football in the country.
“We’re trying to mostly build around homegrown players, and we’re looking for a positive result in our debut campaign,” said Davao Aguilas’ Luis Atayde.
“Our main objective for Copa is to gain experience,” said Adamson head coach Darlton Digha. “The Copa Paulino Alcantara is a ladder or a platform where we can build something much better. We wanna show that we can compete.”
For the second match of match day two, Group A’s Loyola FC will go against CF Manila at 6:30 PM at the same venue. Loyola FC is looking to return in style with some of their youth academy members trying to fit into the next level of football. Meanwhile, CF Manila, a newbie, will try to make a name in the Philippine Football scene.
“We expect quality matches from quality teams,” said Loyola assistant coach Christian Salanguit.
“We’re looking forward to having a good outcome to all of our games,” said CF Manila goalkeeper Enrico Mangaoang. “We can’t wait to start on Sunday.”
Admission is FREE for the two match days this weekend and will be shown via live-streaming at the PFL’s social channels.