Draw ang laban ng Pilipinas at Uzbekistan, 1-1, sa women’s football sa 20th Asian Games sa Nagoya, Japan nitong Lunes.
Ang 19-anyos na si Natalie Collins ang umiskor para sa Pilipinas sa 89th minute sa Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium.
Bago iyon, lumamang ang Uzbekistan sa 81st minute nang malusutan ni Mehribon Egamberdieva si Olivia McDaniel.
Susunod na makakalaban ng PH team, na tinatawag na Filipinas, ang Hong Kong sa Setyembre 17 at China sa Setyembre 21.
Subalit natapos na ang kampanya ng defending champion men’s basketball team na Gilas Pilipinas nang matalo sa China, 61-105.
Kung natalo ang Pilipinas nang hindi tataas sa 37 puntos, may tsansa sanang umabante sa quarterfinals bilang isa sa mga top No. 3 na koponan.
Ngunit dahil tinambakan ng 44 puntos, uuwi na ang koponan ni coach Tim Cone bago pa man ang pormal na pagbubukas ng Asian Games sa Setyembre 19.
Unang nakapasok sa Asian Games ang Filipinas noong 19th edition sa Hangzhou, China 2023, kung saan umabot sila sa quarterfinals.
“This is a group that will test the team’s caliber, but that’s exactly where the Filipinas have always thrived. They don’t shy away from challenges, they fight through them. Hard work got them here, and that same fight will take them for another deep run,” Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president John Gutierrez.
Ayon kay coach Mark Torcaso, mahalaga ang quadrennial Asiad para sa paghahanda sa 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup sa Brazil.
“We want to try and be better than we were at the last Asian Games, which was quarterfinalist, but we also understand it’s out of the FIFA window, we have a lot of players unavailable, and we’re going to test a lot of our young players and new players,” ani Torcaso.
“We’re really using the Asian Games as an opportunity for our team to grow, to be ready for the World Cup.”
Unang sabak ni Torcaso bilang coach ng Philippine team ang 2023 Asian Games, na naantala ng isang taon dahil sa Covid-19 pandemic.
“I think this is a little bit different from when I first started because for me it was new for the team to have a new coach,” aniya. “Now that I’ve been here for three years understanding what Filipino football is about, the players are about, this is a different Asian Games for us.
Para kay Filipinas forward at bagong kinoronahang PFF Women’s League Most Valuable Player na si Alex Carpio, nagbibigay ng kumpiyansa sa kanya ang mga talento ng Filipinas.
“I think the fact that we’re able to send Filipinas to the top leagues in other countries, it’s just another sign that Philippine football is really growing,” ani Carpio. “Thankfully, through all the hard work that even the past Filipinas have done, going to the World Cup before, and just going back to their clubs and showing what Filipina excellence can be like.”
Pagkatapos ng Asian Games, tutungo ang Filipinas sa isang training camp sa Peru sa Oktubre.
“For us it’s about the next block of four to five weeks,” ani Torcaso. “It’s almost like what a World Cup campaign could be like if we’re playing three, four, five, six games in a tournament. Peru is going to be a fantastic opportunity because the altitude is going to be extremely high, and it tests us potentially like what Brazil could be like.”