National booters get PH medal hunt going in Chiang Mai
Men’s football kicks off Team Philippines’ campaign in the Thailand Southeast Asian Games on Tuesday, with its eyes set on a breakthrough podium finish.
The Filipino footballers face Myanmar at 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. Philippine time) at 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai as they look to reap the gains made from two major competitions the past few months.
Both the Philippines and Myanmar are in Group C along with Indonesia, one of the tournament favorites in the event that is undoubtedly the most anticipated among participating nations in the biennial meet.
Emerging as group winner or being the best among the three second placers will send the Philippines to the semifinals for the first time since the 1991 Manila edition, when senior teams were allowed to participate.
Age restrictions
As in recent editions, men’s football will have players under 22 years old. No overage footballers were permitted by host Thailand for the competition. Players over 22 years old were also barred during the 2023 Games in Cambodia when the Philippines drew once and lost four.
The Philippines does have some familiar names who were listed for the meet in midfielder Sandro Reyes, Alex Monis and Javi Mariona. Also in that list is Otu Banatao, who was given the Rising Star award at the Asean U-23 Championship in Jakarta.
It was in the tournament that the Philippines made the semifinals before losing to Vietnam and Thailand, the latter opponent came in the battle for third place.
That squad also competed in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers, winning two games and losing one to finish in Group K. But the Filipinos missed out on a berth to the knockout stage.
The football match comes six days before the formal opening of the Games at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium, with the Philippines sending a record number of 1,600 athletes and officials.
