# 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara

The 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara was the fifth edition of the Copa Paulino Alcantara, the domestic football cup competition of the Philippines. The 2023 edition marks the second time that the cup includes non-PFL teams, with the first being the inclusion of the Philippines U22 as a guest team in 2019.

## Scheduling

The league is set to begin on July 15, 2023. Prior to 2023, the typical schedule would see the Copa being played after the conclusion of that year's Philippines Football League season, with the league shifting to an inter-year format.
On June 17, the PFL confirmed the venues for the competition, namely Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, University of Makati Stadium in Makati, and Biñan Football Stadium in Biñan, Laguna, marking the competition's first time to do so since the 2019 edition, as the other two were primarily held in the PFF National Training Center due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Participating teams

Seventeen teams entered the 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara. All seven clubs of the ongoing Philippines Football League were expected to participate. Before the resumption of the PFL season, United City withdrew from the season in February 2023. The Azkals Development Team also withdrew prior to the end of the season.
| Philippines Football League 5 teams from the 2022–23 season | Former PFL teams 3 teams | University Athletic Association of the Philippines 3 teams | Other guest teams 6 teams |
| Dynamic Herb Cebu Kaya–Iloilo Maharlika Manila Mendiola 1991 Stallion Laguna | Davao Aguilas Loyola Philippine Air Force | Adamson University Far Eastern University University of the Philippines | Don Bosco Garelli CF Manila Manila Digger Philippine Army Pilipinas Dragons Tuloy |

## Format
### Competition

The PFL confirmed the participation of 17 teams just before the draw on June 17, 2023, the most in the competition's history. The 17 teams would be split into three groups (two groups of six and one group of five) with clubs from three pots. The format of the group stage would see teams play a single round robin just as in previous editions, before the group winners and runners-up, as well as the two best third-placers, qualify for the knockout stage.
The knockout stage of the 2023 edition comprises the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. The quarterfinals and semifinals would be two-legged, marking a difference from the previous editions, while the final would be held over a single match. The league had also established beforehand which teams would play each other based on the positions they finished in, eliminating the need for a knockout stage draw. The quarterfinals would see 1st place in group A taking on the 2nd-best third-placed team, the 1st place of group B taking on the best third-placed team, 1st place in group C taking on 2nd place of group B, and the 2nd-placed teams in group A and C facing off.

### Draw

The group stage draw took place on June 17, 2023, with 17 teams confirmed to be competing from the 20-team shortlist. The 5 teams from the Philippines Football League were pre-allocated slots in the three groups, while the other 12 teams were separated into three pots. Pot 1 contained the amateur teams, including youth teams Tuloy and Don Bosco Garelli, former PFL club Loyola (then known as Meralco Manila), 7's Football League clubs Manila Digger and Pilipinas Dragons, as well as newly established Inter Manila (renamed CF Manila after the draw). Pot 2 contained teams from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, with only three - Adamson University, Far Eastern University, and University of the Philippines - comprising the final participants. Pot 3 contained the teams from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, with former PFL club and UFL champions Philippine Air Force and once-UFL third placers Philippine Army competing. The pots are shown below:
| Bye (seeded teams) | Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
| Dynamic Herb Cebu Kaya–Iloilo Maharlika Manila Mendiola 1991 Stallion Laguna | Davao Aguilas Don Bosco Garelli Inter Manila Loyola Manila Digger Pilipinas Dragons Tuloy | Adamson University Far Eastern University University of the Philippines | Philippine Air Force Philippine Army |

## Group stage

* Key to colours in group tables
* Advancing to the knockout stage
* Possible knockout stage

### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KAY | CFM | PAF | FEU | LOY | GAR |
| 1 | Kaya–Iloilo | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2 | +38 | 15 | Quarter-finals | — | 8–0 | 9–1 | — | — | 11–0 |
| 2 | CF Manila | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 10 | Quarter-finals | — | — | 3–1 | — | — | 3–2 |
| 3 | Philippine Air Force | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 14 | −6 | 7 | | — | — | — | 2–2 | 3–0 | — |
| 4 | Far Eastern University | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 6 | | 1–5 | 1–1 | — | — | — | 4–0 |
| 5 | Loyola | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 4 | | 0–7 | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | — | — |
| 6 | Don Bosco Garelli | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 25 | −22 | 0 | | — | — | 0–1 | — | 1–6 | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CEB | MAH | UPH | DRA | DIG |
| 1 | Dynamic Herb Cebu | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | +13 | 12 | Quarter-finals | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | — |
| 2 | Maharlika Manila | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 | Quarter-finals | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–1 |
| 3 | University of the Philippines | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 | Quarter-finals | — | — | — | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| 4 | Pilipinas Dragons | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 3 | | 1–8 | 0–2 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Manila Digger | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 1 | | 1–4 | — | — | 0–1 | — |

### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | STA | DAV | MEN | TLY | PAR | ADU |
| 1 | Stallion Laguna | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 4 | +24 | 12 | Quarter-finals | — | — | 0–1 | 9–1 | 6–1 | — |
| 2 | Davao Aguilas | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 10 | Quarter-finals | 0–4 | — | 3–3 | — | — | 2–0 |
| 3 | Mendiola 1991 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 9 | Quarter-finals | — | — | — | 4–4 | 1–0 | — |
| 4 | Tuloy | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 20 | −9 | 7 | | — | 0–5 | — | — | 3–2 | — |
| 5 | Philippine Army | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 15 | −6 | 3 | | — | 3–4 | — | — | — | 3–1 |
| 6 | Adamson University | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 1 | | 1–9 | — | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | — |

### Ranking of third-placed teams

The two best third-placed teams from the three groups advance to the knockout stage along with the three group winners and runners-up. Due to Group B only having 5 teams, results against the last-placed team in Groups A and C will not be counted when determining the ranking of runners-up.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Mendiola 1991 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 8 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 2 | University of the Philippines | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Philippine Air Force | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 4 | |

## Knockout stage

The teams that qualify for the knock-out stage are allocated a spot based on their position within the group and as a third placer, as determined by the draw on June 17. A third place match was supposed to be held on the same day as the final, but was later cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.
| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| Kaya–Iloilo | 3 | 8 | 11 | | | | | | |
| UP | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |
| UP | 0 | 0 | 0 | Kaya–Iloilo | 2 | 2 | 4 | | |
| | | | | Stallion Laguna | 1 | 1 | 2 | | |
| Stallion Laguna | 5 | 4 | 9 | Stallion Laguna | 1 | 1 | 2 | | |
| Maharlika Manila | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |
| Maharlika Manila | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | Kaya–Iloilo | 1(4) |
| | | | | | | | | Davao Aguilas | 1(3) |
| Dynamic Herb Cebu | 2 | 4 | 6 | | | | | | | Davao Aguilas | 1(3) |
| Mendiola 1991 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| Mendiola 1991 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Dynamic Herb Cebu | 0 | 1 | 1 | | |
| | | | | Davao Aguilas | 1 | 1 | 2 | | |
| CF Manila | 0 | 0 | 0 | Davao Aguilas | 1 | 1 | 2 | | |
| Davao Aguilas | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | |

### Quarter-finals

The first quarter-final legs were played on September 29 and 30, with the second legs played on October 8 and 9.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Kaya–Iloilo | 11–0 | University of the Philippines | 3–0 | 8–0 |
| Stallion Laguna | 9–0 | Maharlika Manila | 5–0 | 4–0 |
| Dynamic Herb Cebu | 6–1 | Mendiola 1991 | 2–0 | 4–1 |
| CF Manila | 0–2 | Davao Aguilas | 0–1 | 0–1 |

### Semi-finals

The first semi-final legs were played on October 19 while the second legs were played on November 3.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Kaya–Iloilo | 4–2 | Stallion Laguna | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Dynamic Herb Cebu | 1–2 | Davao Aguilas | 0–1 | 1–1 |

### Final

The 2023 final was played on 9 December at Rizal Memorial Stadium, the site of the 2018 final.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Team | MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | QF1 | QF2 | SF1 | SF2 | F | Total |
| 1 | Abou Sy | Kaya–Iloilo | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | | 2 | | | | 10 |
| 2 | Yuta Nomura | Stallion Laguna | | 3 | | | 3 | 1 | | 1 | | | 8 |
| 3 | Arnel Amita | Kaya–Iloilo | | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | 1 | | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Justin Baas | Kaya–Iloilo | 2 | | 1 | 1 | | | 1 | 1 | | | 6 |
| 3 | Arda Çınkır | Dynamic Herb Cebu | | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | 2 | | | | 6 |
| 3 | Daizo Horikoshi | Kaya–Iloilo | | 2 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | 6 |
| 3 | Griffin McDaniel | Stallion Laguna | 3 | | 1 | | 2 | | | | | | 6 |
| 3 | Ricardo Sendra | Kaya–Iloilo | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | | 1 | | 6 |
| 3 | Yannick Tuason | Davao Aguilas | | 2 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | 1 | 6 |
| 10 | Jarvey Gayoso | Kaya–Iloilo | | | 2 | 1 | | 2 | | | | | 5 |
| 10 | Cristian Ivanobski | Stallion Laguna | | | 1 | | | 2 | 2 | | | | 5 |
| 10 | John Lloyd Jalique | Tuloy | | | 1 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | 5 |
| 10 | Chima Uzoka | Dynamic Herb Cebu | 2 | | 2 | 1 | | | | | | | 5 |

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Golden Ball | Daizo Horikoshi | Kaya–Iloilo |
| Golden Boot | Abou Sy | Kaya–Iloilo |
| Golden Glove | Quincy Kammeraad | Kaya–Iloilo |
| Best Defender | Simone Rota | Kaya–Iloilo |
| Best Midfielder | Paolo Bugas | Davao Aguilas |
Source: