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Originally published by CNN Philippines

Kaya FC-Iloilo and United City FC arranged their title duel for the Copa Paulino Alcantara 2022 crown after they beat their respective semifinals rivals on Tuesday at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.

In the first semifinals game, a late game goal from tournament top scorer Daizo Horikoshi in the 86th minute gave Kaya their fourth straight Copa Paulino Alcantara finals berth with a 1-0 win over Stallion Laguna FC.

Horikoshi nailed his sixth goal in this year’s Copa Paulino Alcantara with a long volley off a header deflection by Stallion defender Matthew Nierras.

With the win, the Yu Hoshide-mentored squad will seek to win their first back-to-back Copa Paulino Alcantara titles.

Kaya-Iloilo has not miss any of the finals in the four editions of the Copa Paulino Alcantara since 2018, only losing against Ceres-Negros FC in 2019.

Third seed United City, the club that bought the Ceres-Negros franchise in 2020, earned their first finals appearance after a 1-0 victory over second seed Dynamic Herb Cebu FC.

Defender Simen Lyngbo fired a header goal in the 60th minute from a free kick by Kenshiro Daniels.

Cebu failed to score a goal in the next 30 minutes as the United City defense was too much for them.

“We knew we have to match their intensity before going to this game. I believe we have managed to do that,” Lyngbo said after the game.

The final games of the Copa Paulino Alcantara 2022 will be played on Sunday as Stallion Laguna and Dynamic Herb Cebu will first square off in the battle for third place at 5 p.m. The Kaya-United City championship showdown is slated at 8:30 p.m.

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