The 2011 PFF National Men's Under-23 Championship (known as the PFF-Suzuki Under-23 Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a football tournament in the Philippines organized by the

Philippine Football Federation The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of association football in the Philippines. Established as the Philippine Amateur Football Association (PAFA) in 1907, the PFF is one of the oldest national football associations in ...

(PFF) and Japanese automaker Suzuki. It is the first of its kind in the country. The tournament was announced after the two bodies agreed on a P3.2 million sponsorship deal for the national tournament. It aims to get the finest under-23 players that would represent the country in the upcoming Under-23 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) tournament late in 2011. On 22 May 2011,

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...

defeated

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

with a 12–1 aggregate scoreline to win the title.

The rules

The Under-23 Suzuki championship will adopt the rules and guidelines set by the ASEAN Football Federation. The tournament will be divided into four clusters: National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The top two of each will advance to the national championship in June 2011. In the Finals, the remaining teams will follow a home-and-away format.

Schedule

* March 21 up to 31 - Visayas and Mindanao Cluster Qualifying Round * April 11 up to 23 - Regional Qualifiers

The officials

* Mariano Araneta - PFF President * Satoshi Ochida - Suzuki Philippines representative

Timeline

* Late March to May 2011

Mission

In addition, standout players in the tournament will be considered as part of the national team for the 26th South East Asian Games and the AFF U-23 tournament in July, which both events will happen in Indonesia this year.

PFF Suzuki Cup Under-23 National Championship

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinals will divided into two groups and two venues, the Laguna group and the Bacolod group. The University of the Philippines-Los Baños pitch will be the site for the Laguna group that includes host and Luzon second placer Laguna; Mindanao overall leader Davao; NCR Team A, and Visayas’ number two seed, Iloilo.

Panaad Stadium The Panaad Stadium (), also sometimes spelled as Pana-ad, named after the park where the stadium is situated in, is a multi-purpose stadium in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod, Philippines. Panaad hosted various international sporting events part ...

will be the venue for the group of Visayas’ top seed Bacolod, NCR Team B, Mindanao second placer Dipolog, and Luzon topnotcher, Masbate. Laguna * All matches were played in University of the Philippines-Los Baños pitch. *''Iloilo and Davao already qualified for semifinals, but there is a protest against Iloilo team.'' Bacolod * All matches were played in the Panaad pitch. *''Bacolod and NCR B to semi-finals''.

Knockout stage

Semi-finals

Finals

;First Leg ;Second Leg ''NOFA won 12–1 on aggregate.''

Awards

The following were the competition’s top individual awardees. *Best Striker: Joshua Beloya ( NOFA) *Most Valuable Player: Aldrin Dolino (NOFA) *Best Defender: Camelo Tacusalme (NOFA) *Best Goalkeeper: John Robert Mendoza (NOFA) *Best Midfielder: Francis Gustilo (

)

References

{{reflist PFF National Men's Under-23 Championship seasons 2011 in Philippine football Sports in Negros Occidental Sports in Iloilo