BAGO City — Iloilo-Guimaras fell short of capturing the inaugural 2026 Philippine Football Federation U16 National Boys’ Championship crown after bowing to National Capital Region, 4-0, in the championship match at the Manuel Y. Torres Sports Center here.
Despite defeating NCR during the group stage earlier in the tournament, the Visayan booters could not repeat the feat in the final as the Metro Manila side erupted with a dominant second-half performance to secure the historic national title.
Iloilo-Guimaras remained in contention early behind the heroics of goalkeeper Wilson Muñoz Jr., who delivered several crucial saves to keep NCR scoreless in the first half. The squad also generated counterattacking opportunities through Nathan Caligdong, Benedict Simon Sumagaysay, and Jaylord Dajay.
NCR finally broke through in the 48th minute when Kieran Jacob finished off a setup from Johannesbern Ortigas to hand Iloilo-Guimaras its first deficit of the match.
The Visayan side’s hopes took a major blow in the 61st minute after Dajay received his second yellow card, forcing Iloilo-Guimaras to continue the match with only 10 players.
Taking advantage of the manpower edge, NCR widened the gap late in the contest.
Ortigas scored in the 67th minute before Jacob struck again in the 80th minute off an assist from Judah Zephy Tenerepe. Ortigas then completed the scoring three minutes later to seal the convincing victory for NCR.
The defeat denied Iloilo-Guimaras the opportunity to capture the first-ever edition of the national youth football tournament despite an impressive campaign highlighted by its earlier victory over NCR.
Caligdong, however, emerged as one of the tournament’s standout players after winning the Best Midfielder award for his consistent performances throughout the competition.
NCR’s Kieran Jacob was named Most Valuable Player after powering his team with two goals in the championship match.
Despite the loss, Iloilo-Guimaras still finished among the country’s top-performing regional teams in the week-long tournament that showcased some of the nation’s brightest young football talents./PN
