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.
Ang Liga Season 19 | |
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Tournament details | |
Country | Philippines |
Dates | August 13 – November 4, 2023 |
Teams | 12 |
Final positions | |
Champions | Adamson Soaring Falcons (1st title) |
Runner-up | Ateneo Blue Eagles |
Third place | Benilde Blazers |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 23 |
Goals scored | 112 (4.87 per match) |
Top goal scorer(s) | Isaac Anoh Clyde Vitualla (7 goals each) |
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
editAll 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
editUAAP 7 teams |
NCAA 3 teams |
Other schools 2 teams |
Division II
editUAAP 4 teams |
NCAA 3 teams |
Other schools 5 teams |
Venues
editIn 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.
Division I
editGroup stage
editGroup A
editPos | 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 |
Group B
editPos | 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 |
Knock-out stage
editQuarterfinals | 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
editUE Red Warriors | 0–1 | Adamson Soaring Falcons |
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|
UST Golden Booters | 3–4 | Benilde Blazers |
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Report |
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Ateneo Blue Eagles | 4–3 | San Beda Red Booters |
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|
Report |
|
UP Fighting Maroons | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | De La Salle Green Booters |
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Report | ||
Penalties | ||
|
2–3 |
|
Semifinals
editAdamson Soaring Falcons | 2–0 | Benilde Blazers |
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|
Ateneo Blue Eagles | 2–0 | De La Salle Green Booters |
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|
Report |
Battle for Third
editDe La Salle Green Booters | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | Benilde Blazers |
---|---|---|
|
|
|
Penalties | ||
2–4 |
Finals
editAdamson Soaring Falcons | 2–0 | Ateneo Blue Eagles |
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Report |
Final standing
edit
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Division II
editFinal standing
editRank | Team |
---|---|
UST Junior Golden Booters | |
San Beda Red Cubs | |
De La Salle Green Booters – 2 | |
4 | Adamson Soaring Falcons – 2 |
Awards
editIndividual awards
editAward | 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
editAward | 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
editFor 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.
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^ INQUIRER.net (July 12, 2023). "FPJ Panday Bayanihan, Pantheon Holdings unveil partnership with Ang Liga for 19th season". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ "Ang Liga Finds Home in Palms Arena". www.facebook.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
- ^ Banzuelo, Neil (November 5, 2023). "Adamson University crowned Ang Liga Season 19 champion". BusinessWorld Online. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
- ^ Laygo, Moss; Licas, Luis Antonio (October 28, 2023). "Ateneo dominates DLSU, books ticket to Ang Liga Finals". The GUIDON.
- ^ "Football: Ang Liga set for August 5 kick-off". ABS-CBN News. July 12, 2023.
- ^ Olivares, Rick. "Ang Liga gets backing from FPJ Panday Bayanihan for 19th Season". Philstar.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ a b "Ang Liga: Adamson crowned Season 19 champs". Sports Bytes Philippines. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
- ^ Ang Liga (August 2, 2023). "Ang Liga to be streamed on Smart Sports for upcoming season". Facebook.