Carmona, Cavite — Heartbreak, there’s no other way to describe it. Kaya FC-Iloilo fell to United City FC in the battle for the Copa Paulino Alcantara with a scoreline of 2-3, suffering their first domestic loss since the 2019 edition of the Cup Final. Iloilo bounced all the way back from an early disaster to go into halftime with the lead, but were unable to prevent the comeback as the dream of back-to-back titles fell to the wayside.

Eleven minutes into the game, UCFC were forced to attack directly and sent forward a long ball that fell awkwardly between the keeper and the backline. Zach Banzon, Carlyle Mitchell, and former Kaya player Kenshiro Daniels all rushed into no man’s land, but it was the forward who got his foot to the ball first—dinking it up and making it bounce limply into the goal. (0-1)

Robert Lopez Mendy responded just three minutes later, receiving a deflected pass from Jhanjhan Melliza inside the six-yard box before turning and smashing it straight into keeper Anthony Pinthus. The ball bounced off between the two of them, but Robert was first to it as he followed up his own shot to bring things back level again. (1-1)

The match began to settle after the opening salvo, but Kaya were the ones who dictated the pace and had United City playing on the back foot. The boys continued to build on their momentum until things finally came to fruition in the 32^nd minute.

Jhanjhan received a pass from Patrick Arthur in the final third, turned, and found that he had nothing but space in front of him. The La Paz native took two meticulous touches to line everything up perfect, before hitting a perfect ball from beyond the box. The southpaw strike curled beautifully towards the right post, past an outstretched Pinthus, and into the back of the net. (2-1)

Kaya showed a lot of both grit and poise digging deep to retake the lead. They chased after the ball relentlessly out of possession, all while keeping their heads and playing their way while on attack. Iloilo had one hand on the trophy going into the second half, but a couple of critical mistakes led to disastrous consequences.

A 52^nd minute free kick by UCFC was sent high into the box where Zach plucked it out of the air, but he wasn’t able to keep hold of it as he came down. The dropped ball led to a frenzied clearance, but it fell to winger Hikaru Minegishi at the edge of the box who floated it just under the crossbar and in. (2-2)

With the tides turning in their opponent’s favour, it was a corner in the 68^th minute that truly capsized the ship. Azkals stalwart Mark Hartmann sent in a high outswinger that evaded the mass of bodies vying for a header and found Mike Ott, unmarked. The United City captain hit the ball first time, glancing the far post before spinning into the net—two set pieces ending in two gut punches for Kaya. (2-3)

Coach Yu Hoshide had no other choice but to go all-out attack for the rest of the game. As UCFC began to park the bus, the team reverted to a back three to spread the play wide. Jovin Bedic and  Jarvey Gayoso were sent in to help spark the offense. Eventually, even Carlyle Mitchell was sent forward to play as a target man. Iloilo did everything they could in search of a late equalizer, but their efforts were unsuccessful in the end.

Kaya only made two substitutions in this match: Jarvey for Mar Diano in the 73^rd and Jovin for Jhanjhan in the 79^th. Patrick Arthur received a yellow card for a late tackle in the 50^th minute, setting the stage for the equalizer two minutes later.

Daizo Horikoshi took home the Golden Boot award after having an unbelievable tournament, and the same goes for the team as a whole. Finishing top of the standings and making their fourth Cup Final in a row serves as proof of the steady progress they’ve made together. Regardless of last night’s outcome, it has been a spectacular Copa campaign by the boys in yellow and black.

It’s a bitter pill to swallow for sure, but one that will only make them stronger moving forward. The next Kaya take the field will likely be opening day of Philippines Football League, followed shortly by a flight to Bali, Indonesia for the AFC Cup in late June.