Dynamic Herb Cebu’s Daniel Gadia tries to keep the ball off Stallion Laguna’s Abou Sy during their Copa Paulino Alcantara match Wednesday night. PFL photo
Stzllion-Laguna downs Dynamic-Cebu
STZLLION-Laguna managed to hold off newcomers Dynamic Herb Cebu, 1-0, to become the Group A winners in the Copa Paulino Alcantara Wednesday night at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.
Senegalese Abou Sy found the back of the net in the 19th minute as coach Ernie Nierras’ side bucked the departure of Yannick Tuason, who was sent off in the 69th minute due to two yellow cards.
In the first match, captain Jovin Bedic netted a first-half brace as Kaya FC-Iloilo took care of business with a 6-0 trouncing of Mendiola FC 1991 to rule Group B with a maximum of six points.
Stallion will face either the Azkals Development Team or Mendiola FC 1991 in the semifinals on Tuesday.
“We were expecting this to be a tough game and the guys played really well. We managed to make adjustments to prevent Cebu from scoring. That’s the most important thing to do right now, get past the first game and win it,” said Nierras.
The team is dedicating the season to captain Balot Doctora who decided to sit out the Cup due to personal reasons.
Ryo Fujii, Kenshiro Daniels, Daizo Horikoshi and Carlyle Mitchell also entered the scoresheet for Kaya, which followed up its 2-0 victory over the Young Azkals last Sunday.
Kaya, seeking to win its first trophy since the inaugural Copa in 2018, will face newcomer Cebu in the semis on Tuesday.
“The players are getting better game by game and we hope to keep our good form in the semifinals,” said Kaya coach Yu Hoshide.
Mendiola will play ADT in a do-or-die match tomorrow night to determine the semifinalist from Group B.
