4 matches up in inaugural Copa Paulino football

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines Football League debuts its first ever Cup competition dubbed “Copa Paulino Alcantara” on Sept. 1 with a four-game bill headlined by league champ Ceres Negros FC at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The Busmen, who have put a lock on the 2018 league diadem with one league game left, square off with retooled Davao Aguilas in a Group A kick off matchup at 7 p.m. while league runner-up Kaya FC Iloilo battles Global Cebu in a Group B opener at 4 p.m.

Ceres, Davao and Stallion Laguna FC make up what’s largely considered the tougher of the two groups in the Cup play, which is named after the legendary Filipino-Spanish scoring machine who made waves playing for La Liga side Barcelona FC in the 1910s.

Joining Visayas sides Iloilo and Cebu in the other bracket is JPV Marikina.

With Rizal, Biñan Football Stadium and the Philippine Football Federation’s National Training Center field in Carmona alternating as venues, the Copa will feature a double round-robin group play with the Top 2 from each group advancing to the crossover knockout semifinals set Oct. 21. 

Winners will go on to dispute the Cup on Oct. 27 at Rizal Stadium, with a slot to the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup up for grabs.

The PFL decided to name its inaugural Cup after Alcantara, the football legend who for the longest time was Barcelona’s all-time best scorer with 369 goals in 357 games before he was dislodged by Leo Messi in 2014.