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Fresh from their championship in the premier league, Global aims for the UFL
Cup this time around. |
The 2013 UFL season will officially kick off tomorrow with the start of the UFL Cup. For this season's edition, the UFL made a tweak to the bracketing with consideration to the expansion clubs. If you still don't have an idea of how the Cup will be played, read it on.
First, there will be a "wildcard playoff" pitting off the Division 2 teams and the newly-admitted clubs. Seven teams from Division 2, Forza, Socceroo, Manila All-Japan, UIM, Laos, Dolphins, and Agila, will collide with seven new teams, Internacionale, International PH, Gen. Trias, Sta. Lucia, Atletico Cavite, Blue Guards, and Bright Star, respectively. To measure the new team's competence, the Division 2 teams have twice-to-beat advantage each, so for the new teams to get into the group stages, they need to win twice. However, there are nine new teams admitted. The two other rookie teams, Mendiola and Masbate, will clash in a winner-take-all battle to determine who will enter the group stages.
You might be wondering, "Why is AKTV saying that the cup will begin on October 4?" The national TV coverage will start with the second stage or the group stages beginning on the same date. Here, the eight wildcards will battle the ten Division 1 teams, starring defending cup champs Air Force, league champs Global, and the newly-promoted Pachanga-Diliman. There will be 3 groups of 6 teams each. They will play a single round robin elimination to determine the playoff contenders (the top 2 teams of each group and the 2 clubs with the best 3rd-place records).
There's a bonus for the best teams in the UFL Cup. The Top 10 teams will automatically qualify for the Smart National Championships knockout stages. So there's a possibility that this season's UFL Cup champions might end up as the Smart Nationals champs too. Brace yourselves! Philippines' pro soccer at its finest returns!
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