Manila, Philippines - Fancied Bacolod and Davao topped their respective groups to lead the cast in the quarterfinal round in the Suzuki Under-23 National Cup slated May 6-10.
Bacolod gained the top seeding in the group composed of the National Capital Region Team 2, Mindanao leg second placer Dipolog and Luzon elims topnotcher Masbate. They will vie for the semis berths at the Panaad pitch.
The Davaoenos, on the other hand, heads the other group that includes Luzon second placer Laguna, National Capital Region Team I and Visayas No. 2 seed Iloilo. They will play at the UP-Los Banos pitch.
The event is the first major national football tournament in years with the organizing Philippine Football Federation hoping to discover talents who could beef up the country’s U-23 squad seeing action in this year’s SEA Games in Indonesia.
The current senior team has few players who are eligible to compete in the region’s top football competition.
National team head coach Michael Weiss and team manager Dan Palami will be overseeing the team’s campaign in Indonesia.
Current national players seeing action in the tournament include NCR’s Yannick Tuason and David Basa, and Dipolog’s Jerry Barbaso while a number of players are playing for their respective schools in the NCAA and UAAP as well as the United Football League.
“Suzuki hopes to be a long term partner in the development of football here in the country. If we are able to strengthen our national team and in our growth as a football nation then it’s a worthy investment, said Suzuki Philippines PR officer Eileen Esteban.”
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