Filipinas draw with Myanmar, miss Asean Women’s MSIG Serenity Cup semifinals
THE Filipinas rallied to a 1-1 draw with Myanmar at the end of group play, consequently missing out on the semifinals and relinquishing the throne in the Asean Women’s MSIG Serenity Cup on Wednesday in Haiphong, Vietnam.
Needing a win to gain a shot at Top 2 in Group B and a ticket to the Final Four, the Pinay booters found themselves in an even more rocky situation after conceding to Win Theingi Tun from the spot in the 33rd minute.
Mark Torcaso’s youth-laden charges went out for a turnaround but could only manage an equalizer from 16-year-old Nina Mathelus in the 71st.
The result proved catastrophic as the 2022 champs finished group action at third with four points on a 1-1-1 win-draw-loss card.
The Burmese tallied seven on two wins and this standoff to top the bracket as the Australia Under 23, gaining from a 9-0 thrashing of Timor-Leste following the 1-nil victory over the Philippines, took No. 2 with six points (2-0-1).
Myanmar set a semis duel with Group A second-placer Thailand while the Aussies face Group A winner and host Vietnam.
“This was a really good learning curve for all of us — our team, our coaches, to see some of our younger players play, ” said Mr. Torcaso, who worked with a team with an average age of 22.5.
“Yes, we would like to progress to the next stage but unfortunately, we haven’t, and we’ll focus on the (2026) Asian Cup now and our preparations going into it.”
Before that, the Filipinas will aim for redemption in the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December. — Olmin Leyba
