Gilas Pilipinas falls short against Türkiye in OQT prep

c/o TBF

Gilas Pilipinas fell short in  tuneup game against Türkiye in Istanbul, 84-73, as the squad continued their preparations for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Justin Brownlee paced the Filipinos with 21 points, while June Mar Fajardo backed him up with a double-double of seventeen points and eleven rebounds. 

No other Gilas player scored in double figures, with youngsters Carl Tamayo and Kai Sotto each chipping in seven points. Dwight Ramos, who has been given a bigger responsibility in setting up the offense due to the absence of Scottie Thompson, had a good all around performance with eight rebounds and seven assists, although he struggled with his scoring with only four points. 

EuroLeague veteran and 2023 NBA Draftee Tarik Biberovic led Türkiye with 23 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the three-point range. His fifth triple broke the game open late, establishing an 81-73 lead after Gilas managed to reduce things to a two-possession game.

The hosts were in control for much of the game, although Gilas remained within striking distance, as they managed to be only down by a couple at the half, 40-42.

Unfortunately for the Philippines, Türkiye got hot from deep in securing the victory in front of their home fans.

Behind Biberovic's efforts, they would finish 14/41 from beyond the arc.

In addition, they also feasted on the free throw line, converting 18/22 from the stripe, compared to just seven attempts from the Philippines.

“It was a tough loss against Turkey. We had our first taste of the type of opposition we will be facing in the OQT,” said Gilas team manager Richard Del Rosario. “While others may see it as a satisfying first game, our team mindset is - almost is not enough. We only have one shot at make it to the Olympics and we cannot be satisfied with almost winning. We move on to the next game with a firmer belief that we can hold our own against higher ranked teams with a real chance of reaching our mission of making it to Paris.”

The Philippines is set to travel to Sosnowiec for a friendly against a fellow OQT-bound team in Poland this Saturday.

Dan Palami seeks fan support for upcoming Azkals matches

Dan Palami

With the upcoming friendly against Fiji and the AFC Asian Cup Qualifier against Tajikistan coming in the next few days, Senior Men's National Team Manager Dan Palami is asking Filipino fans to support the Azkals in these matches.

According to Palami, "This is an important match for the country, and the cards are not exactly stacked against us. We are currently on top of the table of Group F with 9 points. We win or we draw, we will move forward and the country will be part of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time."

He continues, "We want the ‘12th man’ to be there in both the tune-up game and the Asian Cup qualifier match.  This sport deserves all the support it can get, as we have already gone far, since 2010, when I took over as Team Manager of Azkals."

Palami adds, "We should also be proud of our national team players who are doing well internationally in their various clubs. Such as Neil Etheridge, currently with Cardiff City, and all other previous PFL club players, who are doing well and are now playing for neighboring Asian countries, such as Ian Ramsay, who is currently with Felda United and Misagh Bahadoran, who is with Perak FA… And maybe this is the only way that the country or the youth can see, that aspiring for an international football career is not that impossible."

The friendly against Fiji on March 22 is to get the team ready for the Qualifier against Tajikistan on March 27, with a berth in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates on the line.

Tickets for both matches are available either through SM Tickets or through the gate at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. The match will be shown LIVE on Liga.

PFF announce Azkals friendly with Fiji

Azkals back in action in a few weeks

With the upcoming AFC Asian Cup Qualifier against Tajikistan already set this coming March 27, the Philippine Football Federation recently announced that it will be holding an A-level International Friendly for its Senior Men's National Team against Fiji on March 22 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

This would be the Azkals' second-ever friendly against a side from the Oceania Football Confederation, following their October 2014 friendly against Papua New Guinea that also took place at Rizal Memorial.

Tickets are already available via SM Tickets, with options for PhP 50, 100, 200 for fans to purchase.

In addition, tickets for the AFC Asian Cup Qualifier against Tajikistan are also available, but the ticket prices are PhP 100, 200, and 300, respectively. However, bleacher seating is not an option, per AFC regulations.

Philippines vs Malaysia FIFA friendly details

The Philippines is set to have its friendly against Malaysia tonight. There is no local television broadcast, but the Philippine Football Federation has a set up a streaming link, which we have embedded here on the site.



Here are the Azkals who were called up for this friendly.

Amani Aguinaldo (Global-Cebu)
Fitch Arboleda (Stallion)
Misagh Bahadoran (Global-Cebu)
Jeff Christiaens (Ceres-Negros)
Kenshiro Daniels (Kaya FC-Makati)
Carlie de Murga (Ceres-Negros)
Patrick Deyto (Global-Cebu)
Neil Etheridge (Walsall)
Kevin Ingreso (Ceres-Negros)
Hikaru Minegeshi (Global-Cebu)
Roland Mueller (Ceres-Negros) Withdrew from national team consideration, replaced by Nick O'Donnell (Global-Cebu)
Junior Munoz (Ceres-Negros)
Manny Ott (Ceres-Negros)
Mike Ott (Angthong United)
Javier Patino (Henan Jianye)
OJ Porteria (Ceres-Negros)
Iain Ramsay (Ceres-Negros)
Daisuke Sato (CS Iasi)
Martin Steuble (Ceres-Negros)
Dennis Villanueva (Global-Cebu)
Luke Woodland (Ceres-Negros)
James Younghusband (Meralco-Taguig)
Phil Younghusband (Meralco-Taguig)

Philippines schedules U22 friendly vs Malaysia

The Philippine Football Federation has scheduled a friendly for its Under-22 Men's Team against their Malaysian counterparts later today, December 8, 2016, at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

This is in conjunction with preparations for the upcoming 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur in August.

Kickoff is slated at 7pm, with free admission.

The Filipinos called up for the friendly are as follows:

Junell Mark Bautista (Benguet State University)
Marvin Jake Bricenio (UST)
Jeremiah Borlongan (UP)
Jaime Vicenzo Cheng (SD Raiders FC)
Marco Alessandro Casambre (UP / Global FC)
Julian Mariano Clarino (UP / Loyola Meralco Sparks FC)
Jimson Crestal (San Beda)
Rafael Clifford de Guzman (La Salle)
Darius Joseph Diamante (La Salle)
Daniel Bernan Gadia (UP / Loyola Meralco Sparks FC)
Javier Augustine Gayoso (Ateneo)
Lorenzo Giuseppe Genco (Kaya FC)
Yoshiharu Koizumi (La Salle)
Earl Real Laguerta (CSB)
Christian Lapas (UP)
Dimitri Lionel Limbo (Chesterfield FC)
Raphael Vincent Resuma (UP)
Richard Talaroc (Global FC)
Patrick Valenzuela (NU)
Nathanael Ace Villanueva (UP / Loyola Meralco Sparks FC)
Nico Villacin (La Salle)

The Coaching Staff for the U22 team is led by Marlon Maro, with assistance from Jose Maria Aberasturi, Marlon Pinero, and Noel Marcaida. Managing the team is the tandem of Jefferson Cheng and Miguelito Sanchez.