Kaya holds draft for second Kaya Reunion Match

At the press con for the Kaya Reunion Match: Justin Tolentino, team manager; David Perkovic, current head coach; Rudy Del Rosario, founder Kaya FC; Chris Hagedorn, founder and Kaya Board Member; Paul Tolentino, team manager.

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Kaya holds draft for second Reunion Match

report and pics by rick olivares

Kaya FC held a press conference for the second Kaya Reunion Match at Skinny Mike’s Sports Bar at the Bonifacio Global City this afternoon.

This year’s match that will be held this coming Saturday, August 31, at 6pm at the Emperador Stadium at McKinley Hill, will have a new twist to the lineups.

In the first reunion match, the current Kaya squad went up against its alumni team and the results weren’t pretty as the 2012-13 team romped away to an 8-0 win. Over 50 Kaya alumni showed up for that match.

“To make it more balanced and exciting,” said team manager Justin Tolentino, “We held a draft where the two teams – one coached by (founders) Rudy Del Rosario, Mikee Carrion, and Chris Hagedorn and the other by current coach David Perkovic – will have a mix of players from the new squad, alumni, and the youth teams (U-19). That way, it brings the whole Kaya family together.”

Also taking part in the exhibition match are the club’s new signings Danilo De Jong, younger brother of Global and national player Jason, who plays attacking midfielder; Fil-Dutch left back Andrew Liauw; Argentinean defensive midfielder Mati Alvarez; Australian center back Scott Baginski; and forwards Jovin Bedic and Emmanuel Mbata who played for Stallion and Pasargad last season.

Both teams will be playing three periods of 30 minutes each. The winner of each period will be awarded points that will count towards the total. A trophy will be awarded to the winning team.

Team 1: Rudy Del Rosario/Mikee Carrion/Chris Hagedorn

Anton Del Rosario

Alvin Ocampo

Mark Winhoffer

OJ Porteria

Nico Bolzico

Arama Reagan

Eddie Mallari

Kross Ubiam

Josh Miller

Scott Baginski

Mich Severino

Christian Zubiri

Kenshiro Daniels

Francisco Plaza

Ames Legarda

Saba Garmaroudi

Paolo Misa

Dan O’Reilly

Mati Alvarez

Toto

Antonio Raffles

Toshi Hosoe

Besa

Mikel Maniquis

Carlo Liay

Ramon Bonoan

Team 2: David Perkovic/Justin Tolentino/Raffy Herrera

Chris Greatwich

Marco Casambre

Masa Omura

Paul Tolentino

Iñigo Herrera

Emmanuel Mbata

Evan Santos

Rafael Plaza

Danilo de Jong

Gil Talavera

Johnny McArtor

Fabian Lewis

Kale Alvarez

Enzo Jalandoni

Woody Ugarte

Panky Abijay

Nicolas Cruz

Nick O'Donnell

Mari Javier

Joey Arenas

Janrick Soriano

Joel Dabao

Luis Sumera

Andrew Liauw

Enrique Posas

Perkovic, who came in the first month of the league season, expressed excitement about being a part of this "Reunion Match". "It is nice to see how huge the Kaya family is," he said. "To be able to add to its legacy is a big honor for me."

The Australian coach also added that Kaya isn’t done with the tinkering of its squad but he expressed excitement over the new season.

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FREE ENTRANCE TO THE KAYA REUNION MATCH THIS SATURDAY AUG. 31 AT 6pm AT THE EMPERADOR STADIUM.

With the new signings of Kaya: Andrew Liauw, Jovin Bedic, Justin Tolentino, Emmanuel Mbata, David Perkovic, Mati Alvarez, Scott Baginski, Danilo De Jong, Rudy Del Rosario, Chris Hagedorn, and Paul Tolentino.

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Read about last year's Kaya Reunion Match 

How the reunion match was organised

The first ever Kaya Reunion Match: The Ephemeral Vibe

I broached the idea of the reunion match to Kaya owner Santi Araneta last year and he liked it immediately. From there, I sat down with Ramon Araneta, Chris Hagedorn, and Rudy del Rosario to make it happen. Why do a Kaya Reunion Match? I was a fan of Kaya back in the 1990s. It was a thrill as a fan to be able to organize this. When it finally all came together last year at the BGC Turf, it was one of the best things I am most proud of. Thanks once more to Santi Araneta, Paul & Justin Tolentino, Raffy Herrera, and Rudy del Rosario for making this happen.