All set for PFF-Suzuki Cup finals

By Jerome S. Galunan Jr.


Ten top teams will be vying to be the next PFF Suzuki U23 National Cup champion when the league’s final qualifying kicks off on May 17-26 in Dumaguete City.
Among the teams to challenge defending champion Negros Occidental Football Association (Cefers-La Salle) include three teams from Luzon, namely, Masbate, Laguna and Baguio – Benguet; Visayas regional qualifiers football associations from Iloilo and Cebu; and Mindanao elimination qualifiers North Cotabato, Iligan-Lanao del Norte, Davao and Zamboanga del Norte-Dipolog.
In the final qualifying matches, teams will be divided into two groups wherein the top two squads in each bracket will advance to the crossover semis while the winners battle in the finals.
Meanwhile, in a memorandum from PFF, those teams to qualify in the semifinals will be playing onMay 28 while the championship set on May 30.
The PFF Suzuki U23 National Cup has been the breeding ground of local players who had moved on to join international competitions as part of the National football team.
On the other hand, despite the postponement of the tournament, defending champion NOFA-Ceres squad has undergone rigid training to ensure of defending their crown.
“Since we have limited time left in our trainings, we focus more on tactical plays. Part of our plan is to gather our players, because some of them are in Manila,” team assistant coach Ramon Janeo said earlier.
“Sometimes it is also a problem for us when some of our players are unavailable because we cannot perfect some of our plays,” he added.
Janeo also admitted they cannot say they have the edge over their opponents. “This is because we know their strengths and weaknesses, and their game strategies as well.
Although we beat some of these teams, we try not to be too confident. We believe that our opponents are strong too since they also reached this certain level,” he explained.
The veteran tactician Freddie “Nene” Lazarito-mentored squad will have San Carlos star and NOFA-Ceres striker Gerardo Valmayor III, son of San Carlos City Mayor Gerardo Jr., alongside University of St. La Salle scorers Fil-Am Joshua Beloya and J Baguioro, and West Negros University’s Jimuel Arriola.

Watchmen Daily Journal