Bedic: I Just Wanted to Celebrate with the Fans Jovin Bedic admits he doesn't know who scored the winner, and he doesn't care.
When Kaya FC–Iloilo retook the lead late in the second half, Jovin Bedic raced away from the Davao Aguilas’ box with his arms outstretched, animatedly shouting at the crowd. Moments later, Jovin’s name bellowed out of the stadium speakers. The hometown hero had just scored the winner.
Upon review of the goal, however, it turned out Bedic wasn’t near the ball when it was turned in. Miguel Tanton’s delivery had sailed over his head, where Davao’s goalkeeper, Nick O’Donnell had touched it towards his own goal. Waiting at the goal line was Masanari Omura, who touched the ball in. Whether the ball was already over the line before Omura’s touch, is debatable. To Jovin, he doesn’t care who gets the credit.
“Di ko na alam kung sino naka-goal,” he said after the game. “Para sa akin lang, maka-celebrate lang kasama ang fans. Syempre, proud ako sa team natin na nanalo ngayon. Yung winning goal, super saya talaga, hindi ko ma-explain.”
(“I don’t know anymore who scored,” he said after the game. “For me, I just wanted to celebrate in front of the fans. Of course, I’m proud that the team won today. That winning goal, it was so much fun, I can’t explain it.”)
Without the likes of Jordan Mintah, Robert Lopez Mendy, and Alfred Osei, Kaya relied on an extraordinary amount of grit and discipline to keep the visitors at bay — typified by standout performances from center back Camelo Tacusalme and Shirmar Felongco, who was deployed in the center of midfield for the first time this season.
“Super hard yung laro, tough talaga. Pero, whoever nasa lineup, ibibigay [dapat] lahat. So, super proud ako sa team na binigay lahat,” said Bedic. “Yung motivation ng team [was the difference]. Nasa home pitch tayo. Yung mga tao, yun yung nag-mo-motviate sa amin na maglaro ng maayos kahit wala ang mga ibang key player.”
(“The game was super hard, really tough. But, whoever’s in the lineup should give everything. So, I’m super proud of the team that they gave everything,” said Bedic. “The team’s motivation was the difference. We’re at our home pitch. The people, that’s what motivates us to play well even without some of our key players.”)
