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.[3][4]
Scheduling
The league is set to begin on July 15, 2023.[2] 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.[5]
Seventeen teams entered the 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara.[6] All seven clubs of the ongoing Philippines Football League were expected to participate.[7] Before the resumption of the PFL season, United City withdrew from the season in February 2023.[8] The Azkals Development Team also withdrew prior to the end of the season.
Philippines Football League 5 teams from the 2022–23 season
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.[9]
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.[9] The pots are shown below:
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.
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.[1][9] A third place match was supposed to be held on the same day as the final, but was later cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.[10]
