The calm before the U-23 storm

The calm before the U-23 storm

by rick olivares

Iloilo City – After seven weeks of tough elimination games matches in the PFF Suzuki Under-23 National Cup, the field of 29 teams is down to four.

And fittingly, the final four teams come from the acknowledged football hotbeds in the country – Bacolod, Davao, Iloilo, and the National Capital Region.

Host Iloilo, a tournament favorite to win the title, will play a NCR team laden with UAAP and NCAA players, at Barotac Nuevo on Sunday, May 15 while Bacolod, coached by former national player Norman Fegidero Jr. will go up against Davao at the Central Philippine University pitch on Monday, May 16.

It’s a virtual win-or-go-home game where the winners move on to the finals in a home-and-away format.

Despite the talent on his team, Smit remained wary. “NCR is at the biggest disadvantage. Our first full game together was against Bacolod. And coach Nonoy knew that and in the first 15 minutes, tinira kami agad for two goals. Wala pa kaming 15 sessions of training. Natuwa ako kung meron 13 na dumating.”

If the composition from many schools was a problem, Bacolod made sure that their number was manageable. Said assistant coach Ramon Janeo: “For our preparations before we qualified sa semifinals, our advantage is our composition that comes from three schools -- University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, University of St. La Salle, and West Negros University.”

However, a brief debate arose when the NCR’s Smit and team representative Jojo Rodriguez protested that their match be played in Barotac Nuevo, the home field of the Iloilo team. Smit cited past experiences where the crowd got rowdy and he feared for the safety of his players.

Match Commissioner Augilbert Encontro said that the host association had the prerogative of choosing their home field. Local Organizing Committee Head Duffie Botavera also gave assurances of the players’ safety. “In Barotac, it is said that if you play well, you will have half the crowd. I cannot comprehend that because the people there appreciate the talents of the players and that we are not taking advantage of the situation.”

Iloilo will play NCR on Sunday, May 15 at 230pm while Bacolod will go up against Davao at Central Philippines University on Monday, May 16 also at 230pm.