The Philippine national women’s football team is getting closer to its dream of making it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Led by coach Let Dimzon, the Filipinas are now a step closer to their goal after winning three matches in an Olympic qualifying tournament last week in Tajikistan.
Their 3-0-1 win-draw-loss record assured the Filipinas of a slot in the next round of qualifiers in April of 2019.
The Pinays first overwhelmed Singapore before coming away with a 3-1 squeaker over the host team of Tajikistan, 3-1.
They then outplayed Mongolia, 5-1, before absorbing a 0-5 loss to the Chinese Taipei.
Shelah Mae Cadag was the breakout player for the Philippines with hat tricks against Singapore and Mongolia.
Sara Castañeda, Hali Long and Irish Navaja were the three other Filipinas scoring three goals each during this qualifying phase.
Aside from Long, Patrice Impelido and Patricia Tomanon, the squad is Philippine-born and raised, a testament to the rising quality of women’s football in the Philippines.
Dimzon said some national team players missed a few playdates in the Philippine Football Federation women’s league because of national team duty.
But their stint in the league kept them in midseason shape for months leading up to the games in Tajikistan.
And that’s after the national squad did some intensive training at the artificial pitch of the Manila Jockey Club in Carmona, Cavite.