Dean Ebarle Gets his Moment Given his full debut in the final league game of 2018, the 20-year-old made sure it was one to remember.

Victory over the weekend not only provided Kaya FC–Iloilo the ideal springboard heading into the highly anticipated Copa Paulino Alcantara, it also served as a successful showcase of young talent within the club’s squad.

Sprinkled among the regular starters were the likes of Zach Banzon (21), Audie Menzi (23), Arnel Amita (23), and Mike Menzi (25). But of all the youngsters, the spotlight was on the youngest of the bunch, Dean Ebarle. Prior to the match, the 20-year-old former St. Benlide star only had one brief substitute appearance in the 2018 campaign. On Saturday, not only did he get his first full 90 minutes as a professional, he played a key role in obtaining Kaya FC–Iloilo’s sixth clean sheet of the season.

“Not bad for a debutant right?” said a beaming Dean Ebarle after the game. “All of the hard work really paid off. Happy ako kasi yung coaches nagtiwala sila sa akin. Ako naman, eto yung game na ma-prove ko sa team na may lugar ako dito. And I hope there’s still many to come.”

(Not bad for a debutant right? All of the hard work really paid off. I’m happy because the coaches showed faith in me. For me, this was the game to prove I deserve a place here. And I hope there’s still more to come.)

“Kahit hindi namin nakuha yung goal, which is to win the league, we still finished strong to secure second place. As a team, we know we did our best, but unfortunately we fell short,” he added. “After this win, the morale is very high. As the coaches said, there’s no room for complacency because everyone wants to win the cup. When we get back to training we expect the intensity to be very high.”

(Even if we missed our goal, which is to win the league, we still finished strong  to secure second place…)

Ebarle also earned praise from goalkeeper Zach Banzon, who was pleased to earn a clean sheet to close out the league campaign.

“I’m really happy. In the previous game (3-1 win over JPV Marikina), I was pretty disappointed not to get a clean sheet. I’m super proud of my teammates, especially the back four. Dean with his first start also, he played so well. The Menzi brothers were so reliable. It was a matter of us staying switched on and I’m happy we got the clean sheet,” he said.

“In the three years I’ve been here (Kaya FC), it’s the highest [in the standings] we’ve finished. Credit goes to everyone. But the job isn’t done yet, there’s still the cup. Ultimately, the goal is to get back to the AFC Cup, so we’re looking forward to it.”