BAGO/VICTORIAS — The 2026 PFF U16-U19 National Boys’ Championships continued with full force on Thursday in Negros Occidental, delivering a packed match day of goals, grit, and standout individual performances across both the U16 and U19 competitions.
From a Davao de Oro squad taking the early lead in Bago City to a Zambaleño nine-goal masterclass in Victorias City, Match Day 2 raised the stakes considerably as the group stage picture began to take shape.
U16: NCR announces themselves, Davao de Oro stays perfect
The National Capital Region Football Association (NCRFA) made an emphatic entrance into the inaugural U16 Championship, crushing Mount Apo Regional Football Association (MARFA), 9-0, in a display of clinical, relentless attacking football.
The headline act was Johannesberg Ortigas, a Bacolod-born striker who turned his homecoming into a personal celebration, scoring four goals on the ground where he grew up. It was the kind of statement performance that reverberates through a tournament, and NCRFA’s arrival at the top of Group A’s conversation was impossible to ignore.
IGRFA, however, refused to yield top spot without a fight. The Iloilo-Guimaras Regional Football Association ground out a hard-earned 4-2 win over Misamis Occidental-Ozamiz Football Association (MOOFA) — a team that refused to go quietly and mounted comeback attempts that were met each time with a swift IGRFA reply.
The backbone of that resilience was team captain James Michael Consular of Barotac Nuevo, who controlled the tempo and directed his side’s calculated buildup from the back with composure beyond his years. IGRFA remain top of Group A with six points, with a highly anticipated collision with NCRFA on Friday now looming as the group’s defining match.
In Group B, Golden Davao Regional Football Association (GODARFA) produced the most dramatic moment of the U16 match day.
Representing the provinces of Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental, GOFARFA came up against a determined Olongapo City-Zambales Football Association (OCZFA) side and needed something special to break the deadlock. It arrived courtesy of tall striker Vincent Laurence Baro, who curled a winner from the right wing in the final possession of the first half before GODARFA’s transition defense held firm for the remaining minutes to secure a 1-0 victory and six points from six.
Baro, who had been listed as an injury doubt heading into the match, spoke with barely contained joy after the final whistle.
“Di ko po talaga ine-expect kasi hindi ako nag-eexpect na makalaro ngayon kasi injured player po ako kahapon,” he said.
Pero sobrang saya po kasi nauwi namin yung panalo kasama ang mga teammates ko. Masarap talaga sa pakiramdam na nandito na kami, sobrang sarap na kami yung undefeated dito.
Camiguin-Misamis Oriental Regional Football Association (CMORFA), who had pushed hosts NORFA to the brink on opening day, rebounded convincingly with a 2-0 win over Iligan-Lanao Regional Football Association (ILRFA). Top striker Basti Ordinan, who had already made his mark in the regional qualifiers, delivered a sharp second-half brace to move CMORFA into a three-way tie for second place in Group B alongside NORFA, both on three points.
U19: Olongapo-Zambales explode, Laguna draws from deep dearth
The U19 group stages in Victorias City produced their share of drama on Match Day 2, none more so than the stunning nine-goal display by Olongapo City-Zambales FA (OCZFA), who dismantled Butuan-Agusan del Norte (BANFA), 9-1, to shoot to the top of Group B. Kurt Ivan Venturina led the Zambaleños with a first-half hat-trick, confirming that OCZFA’s opening-day 1-0 win over Davao South RFA was no fluke.
Head coach Willie Jaypee Mendiola credited his side’s discipline and ambition for the performance.
Ang sabi ko sa kanila, ball possession, yung [kalabang] team wag minamaliit, ikot lang ang bola. Ang aim talaga namin makapasok sa First Division.
The day’s most gripping contest was the three-all draw between South Cotabato-Sarangani-General Santos RFA (SOCSARGEN) and Laguna RFA (LRFA). SOCSARGEN played the final stretch with ten men but still managed to build a 3-1 lead — only for Laguna to stage a stirring two-goal comeback in extra time to earn a share of the points. It was the kind of match that signals this group is far from settled.
Zamboanga del Norte-Dipolog RFA (ZANDIRFA) kept their perfect record intact with a 3-1 win over Mount Apo RFA to lead Group A with six points banked on a strong first half.
Davao South RFA (DRFA) also returned to winning ways, edging Cordillera Administrative Region FA (CARFA), 3-2, with Rommel Bactat Jr.’s first-half penalty and Karlos Daniel Donado’s 50th-minute goal proving enough to withstand Jhimer Insigne’s late reply.
The 2026 PFF U16-U19 National Boys’ Championships continues in Negros Occidental, with the Group A U16 showdown between IGRFA and NCRFA on Friday the most eagerly awaited fixture on the horizon.
