2023 Ang Liga season

2023 Ang Liga season
Ang Liga Season 19
Tournament details
CountryPhilippines
DatesAugust 13 – November 4, 2023
Teams12
Final positions
Champions Adamson Soaring Falcons (1st title)
Runners-up Ateneo Blue Eagles
Third place Benilde Blazers
Tournament statistics
Matches played23
Goals scored112 (4.87 per match)
Top goal scorer(s) Isaac Anoh
Clyde Vitualla
(7 goals each)

The 2023 Ang Liga season was the nineteenth edition of Ang Liga, an inter-collegiate pre-season football tournament in the Philippines.[1] This was the first season of Ang Liga under the sponsorship of Adidas. The season started on August 13, 2023, and concluded on November 4, 2023. The league's first division was contested by twelve teams, while each team played a minimum of 5 matches in total, the most since the 2019 season.

On July 24, the league announced that matches would be held at the new PALMS Arena in Quezon City.[2] However, due to issues with the field, all Division 1 matches were held at the UP Diliman Football Field.

The league's return to an all-collegiate lineup of teams marked the end of its temporary admission of guest teams back in Season 18, where non-collegiate club teams participated due to a lack of entrants following the pandemic.

This season marked the first championship of the Adamson Soaring Falcons[3] and the first time that the Ateneo Blue Eagles clinched a finals berth since 2016.[4] The league partnered with the FPJ Panday Bayanihan foundation throughout the entirety of the season while Adidas was the title sponsor of the knockout round.[5]

Participating teams

All collegiate squads from the previous season, with the exception of the University of Makati, returned for the nineteenth edition of the league. This includes the Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, Far Eastern University, and the University of Batangas.

Twelve teams entered the 2023 Ang Liga season's first division (collegiate). This includes seven teams from the UAAP, three teams from the NCAA, one team from the NCAA South, and one unattached team. On the other hand, twelve teams also entered for the season's second division (high school and secondary teams).[6]

Division I

UAAP
7 teams 		NCAA
3 teams 		Other schools
2 teams

Division II

UAAP
4 teams 		NCAA
3 teams 		Other schools
5 teams

Venues

UP Diliman Football Field
Claret
Xavier School
La Salle Green Hills
Venues within Metro Manila.

In contrast to the previous season, which was held between FEU Diliman and DLSU Integrated School in Biñan, all first division matches were held at the UP Diliman Football Pitch, the same stadium where the UAAP Season 85 group stage matches were held. Fixtures were initially slated to be played at the newly opened PALMS Arena in Quezon City, but following issues with the pitch which resulted in the season opening date being pushed back, the venue remained unused for the rest of the season.

For the second division matches, the DLSU Biñan pitch was used in rotation with new venues around Metro Manila.

Stadium Location Tournament
D1 D2
UP Diliman Football Field Quezon City Y Y
Claret Football Field Quezon City Y
Xavier School Football Field San Juan City Y
La Salle Green Hills Football Field Mandaluyong Y
DLSU Biñan Football Field Biñan, Laguna Y

Division I

Group stage

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  De La Salle University 5 4 0 1 10 3 +7 12 Qualified to the semifinals
2  Adamson University 5 4 0 1 10 3 +7 12
3  San Beda University 5 3 1 1 5 3 +2 10
4  De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde 5 1 2 2 3 2 +1 5
5  Emilio Aguinaldo College 5 1 1 3 3 10 −7 4
6 University of Batangas 5 0 0 5 5 15 −10 0
Updated to match(es) played on October 20, 2023. Source: Ang Liga

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  University of Santo Tomas 5 3 2 0 15 5 +10 11 Qualified to the semifinals
2  Ateneo de Manila University 5 3 2 0 13 7 +6 11
3  University of the East 5 2 2 1 7 8 −1 8
4  University of the Philippines 5 2 1 2 7 7 0 7
5  Far Eastern University 5 0 3 2 5 13 −8 3
6 Mapúa Malayan Colleges Laguna 5 0 1 4 5 12 −7 1
Updated to match(es) played on October 20, 2023. Source: Ang Liga

Knock-out stage

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
A1  La Salle 0(3)
B4  UP 0(2)
A1  La Salle 0
B2  Ateneo 2
B2  Ateneo 4
A3  San Beda 3
B2  Ateneo 0
A2  Adamson 2
B1  UST 3
A4  Benilde 4
A4  Benilde 0 Third place
A2  Adamson 2
A2  Adamson 1 A1  La Salle 2(2)
B3  UE 0 A4  Benilde 2(4)

Quarterfinals

UE Red Warriors 0–1 Adamson Soaring Falcons
  • Buenaobra 84'
UST Golden Booters 3–4 Benilde Blazers
  • Belluga 33'
  • Valderama 87'
  • Alegre 90+1'
 Report
  • Borja 12'
  • Tolentino 57'
  • Vitualla 64'
  • Semilla 84'
Ateneo Blue Eagles 4–3 San Beda Red Booters
  • Agyei 12'
  • Agyei 49'
  • Abaa 55'
  • Maquiling 70'
 Report
  • Reña 8'
  • Mapula 74'
  • Encaya 84'
UP Fighting Maroons 0–0 (a.e.t.) De La Salle Green Booters
Report
Penalties
  • Parpan
  • Calayag
  • Evangelista
  • Regino
  • Velasquez
2–3
  • Andan
  • Suarez
  • Lozano
  • Vecin
  • Dela Cruz

Semifinals

Adamson Soaring Falcons 2–0 Benilde Blazers
  • Jayaon 38'
  • Jayaon 45'
Ateneo Blue Eagles 2–0 De La Salle Green Booters
 Report

Battle for Third

De La Salle Green Booters 2–2 (a.e.t.) Benilde Blazers
  • Elnas 14'
  • Elnas 39'
  • Vitualla 50'
  • Vitualla 76'
Penalties
2–4

Finals

Adamson Soaring Falcons 2–0 Ateneo Blue Eagles
  • Jayaon 45+2'
  • Jayaon 90+10'
 Report

Final standing

Division II

Final standing

Rank Team
 UST Junior Golden Booters
 San Beda Red Cubs
 De La Salle Green Booters – 2
4  Adamson Soaring Falcons – 2

Awards

Individual awards

Award Player/s Team Ref
Golden Glove Andrew Nalog  Adamson Soaring Falcons [7]
Golden Ball Leo Maquiling  Ateneo Blue Eagles
Golden Boot Isaac Anoh  De La Salle Green Booters
John Clyde Vitualla  Benilde Blazers
Best Defender Arjay Buenaobra  Adamson Soaring Falcons
Best Coach Darlton Digha  Adamson Soaring Falcons

Team of the Tournament

Award Player Team Ref
Keeper Andrew Nalog  Adamson Soaring Falcons [7]
Defenders Arjay Buenaobra  Adamson Soaring Falcons
Dexter John Chasing  Adamson Soaring Falcons
Jethro Flores  Ateneo Blue Eagles
Jet Gabriel Dela Cruz  Ateneo Blue Eagles
Midfielders Leo Maquiling  Ateneo Blue Eagles
Fernando Suarez  De La Salle Green Booters
Roque Empledo  Adamson Soaring Falcons
Forwards Kofi Agyei  Ateneo Blue Eagles
Isaac Anoh  De La Salle Green Booters
John Clyde Vitualla  Benilde Blazers

Media

For the first time, the league inked a one-year deal with a broadcast partner, as all Division 1 matches were broadcast and livestreamed via Smart Sports.[8] Meanwhile, Division 2 matches were sporadically streamed on the league's page.

See also

References

  1. ^ INQUIRER.net (July 12, 2023). "FPJ Panday Bayanihan, Pantheon Holdings unveil partnership with Ang Liga for 19th season". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  2. ^ "Ang Liga Finds Home in Palms Arena". www.facebook.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Banzuelo, Neil (November 5, 2023). "Adamson University crowned Ang Liga Season 19 champion". BusinessWorld Online. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Laygo, Moss; Licas, Luis Antonio (October 28, 2023). "Ateneo dominates DLSU, books ticket to Ang Liga Finals". The GUIDON.
  5. ^ "Football: Ang Liga set for August 5 kick-off". ABS-CBN News. July 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Olivares, Rick. "Ang Liga gets backing from FPJ Panday Bayanihan for 19th Season". Philstar.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Ang Liga: Adamson crowned Season 19 champs". Sports Bytes Philippines. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Ang Liga (August 2, 2023). "Ang Liga to be streamed on Smart Sports for upcoming season". Facebook.
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