AIDED by the results of defending champion Vietnam and Thailand over their respective group foes last Tuesday night, the Philippines attained a breakthrough by advancing to the semifinals of the Asean Under-23 Mandiri Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Vietnamese nipped the Cambodians 2-1 at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in the Indonesian capital to top Group B, while the Thais battled Myanmar to a scoreless standoff at the Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium in the neighboring city of Bekasi to secure first place in Group C.
With the outcomes, the Pinoy Under-23 booters, who took second spot in Group A, entered the semis as the best group runners-up for the first time since making their debut in the 2005 edition in Bangkok, Thailand.
The charges of Australian coach Garrath McPherson blanked Brunei 2-0 last Tuesday to finish their campaign with six points behind group topnotcher Indonesia, which drew 0-0 with Malaysia in the other match that day.
They will have a much-needed three-day respite since their “reward” was the challenge of facing the back-to-back defending champions tomorrow at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, followed by the other semis match between the Indonesian hosts and the Thais.
The winning semifinalists will dispute the championship trophy on July 29, while the semifinal losers will clash for third place the previous day.
