By Adrian Stewart Co

Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo aims to regain their lost crown in the 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara, which kicked off last night at the Philippine Football Federation National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.

The Iloilo City-based football club is being tipped as the favored team in the bubble tournament with previous Copa champion United City Football Club taking a leave this season.

Kaya-Iloilo team manager Jing Jamlang said the squad has been hungry to emerge on top anew after settling for runner up finishes the past few tournaments.

“Our goal is really to win the championship. We want to make our Ilonggo football fans proud,” Jamlang said in an interview with Ilonggo Pablito Araneta at Gametime: A Sports Podcast.

“The team has been training hard and was inspired by the full support of the management despite the (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic situation we are in,” he added.

Kaya-Iloilo star Jovin Bedic, for his part, said the players are ready as they will draw inspiration and learnings from their 2021 AFC Champions League campaign in Thailand.

“The boys are ready for this season. We will apply here ‘yung mga natutunan namin as a team sa Champions League,” the Barotac Nuevo-native Bedic said in the same podcast.

“Actually, since we return from Champions League, tuloy-tuloy ‘yung training ng team but naging on-and-off nung tumaas ‘yung COVID cases that we resorted to virtual workouts,” he added./ASC, WDJ