KUALA LUMPUR—The 29th Southeast Asian Games has yet to formally fire off, but the Philippine men’s football team is already bracing for war as it opens its bid against Cambodia Tuesday night at the 16,000-seater Selayang Stadium in Selangor.
Game time is at 8:45 p.m., with head coach Marlon Maro optimistic of their chances, saying that they are eyeing no less than a semifinal finish following a sorry performance in the Singapore SEA Games in 2015.
He said unlike in the previous edition of the biennial meet, where they lost all their four matches, his side is both mentally and physically ready this time.
In fact, they have a three-game training tour in Bahrain where they faced a pair of second-tier teams and a university squad as part of their buildup for this prestigious 11-nation conclave that will go full blast this Saturday (Aug. 19) at the massive Bukit Jalil Stadium in this bustling Malaysian capital.
More than anything, Maro revealed that his wish list of players was granted after local clubs gladly released their players for the national team.
“In 2015, I was tasked to handle the team three weeks before actual competition,” said Maro ahead of their match against the Cambodians.
“But now, I think we have enough time to prepare. We had tournament and training tours, which helped the players to build up and gain confidence.”
Cambodia is a familiar foe.
The Philippine U22 squad suffered a 0-1 setback to the Cambodians in the AFC U23 Championship Qualifier in Phnom Penh last month.
But it’s now water under the bridge as Maro claimed that his side had improved, especially with the presence of University Athletic Association of the Philippines Most Valuable Player Jarvey Gayoso, Jordan Jarvis and Jaryrah Rocha of Ateneo, Daniel Gadia, Christian Lapas, Ian Clarino and Ace Villanueva of University of the Philippines and RJ Joyel and Reymart Cubon of Far Eastern University.
Seven players of Davao Aguilas were also given the green light to join, making it one of the most solid teams ever fielded by the country.
“I want to thank the club teams for releasing their players to the national team,” said Maro. “I feel that our realistic target of making it to the semifinals is within reach. We just have to work hard and hope for the best.”
The Philippine men’s squad is on a tough bracket with Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Timor Leste.
Maro cited the pressing need to win in their first three matches against powerhouse sides Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam to surpass their previous performance and get past the group stage.
“For this bracket, we need nine points to progress,” he said. “The first three games are very important.”
“It’s always been my dream to make it to the finals, but we were not able to manage that and achieve the goal. So I told the boys to do their best against Cambodia and let’s see what will happen.”
If the men’s squad will be marching with complete personnel, the women’s side suffered a major setback after Filipino-American striker Eva Madarang crashed with an elbow injury during the side’s training in Japan.
Madarang played a pivotal role in the Malditas’ campaign in the AFC Women’s Cup qualifiers in Dushanbe, Tajikistan where she scored a total of four goals.
“This is a major blow for us,” said head coach Marnelli Dimzon, whose side will face Malaysia at 8:45 pm at the at the UiTM Shah Alam in Selangor.
The Malditas are making a SEA Games comeback after missing the previous edition in Singapore. They lost both their matches in the preliminaries in the Myanmar biennial meet in 2013.