Azkals first to arrive in Jakarta

JAKARTA, Indonesia—The Azkals, not necessarily the same batch that resurrected football in the Philippines, were the first group of Filipinos who arrived in this traffic-infested Indonesian capital yesterday for the 26th Southeast Asian Games.

And though finding newfound fame back home because of a series of sterling international performances, this Under-23 squad hopes to break through in these Games – and that is to win for the Philippines its first soccer medal.

he famous Younghusbands—James and Phil—feared stricker Chiefy Caligdong and the indefatigable Ali Borromeo won’t be on this squad, but the Philippines probably has its best shot at going home with a medal when the smoke of the battle clears here.

“It’s doable, definitely,” team manager Dan Palami, the man chiefly responsible for that resurgence, told the Inquirer moments after touching down after a nearly seven-hour trip from Manila to Singapore to here.

The Philippines’ best football finish in the biennial meet came in 1991, when the country hosted the Games in Manila. That squad went on to make the semifinals only to lose and settle for fourth place.

And if one would talk about the luck of the draw, then the Philippines had seemingly gotten one, and hopes to ride it all the way towards finishing in the money.

Bracketed with Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Laos, Vietnam and Brunei, the Philippines is in what coaching staff calls the “Group of Hope” as the other favorites, counting the host Indons, Singapore, Thailand and defending champion Malaysia are in the other.

Cambodia is the fifth and last Group A member. Only two groups make up the elimination round with the top two teams to advance to the cross-over Final Four after a single round robin.

Given that, the Filipinos, who will be reinforced by a number of Fil-foreign players, will play a total of five games and would need to top their group to draw the lightest possible assignment in the semifinals.

“A lot of people think that it’s going to be easy,” Palami explained. “But what I think is that we should realize that teams like Timor-Leste, Cambodia and Laos have actually built very good youth programs and the products of those programs are going to play.

“Easier for us might be a misnomer,” he continued. “The draw looks to be to our advantage, but at the end of the day, it will be how the team plays.”

These Azkals, who suffered a blow recently when Fil-German midfielder Manny Ott opted not to play in search of a club in Europe, debut on Thursday against Vietnam at the Gelona Bung Karno Stadium. /inquirer