MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines formally bombed out of the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup Saturday (April 18) when it got blown away by Turkmenistan, 5-0, at the National Stadium in Maldives.

It did not help that the Filipinos, nursing slim hopes of advancing, were already 3-0 down before the hour mark.

It was the worst defeat by an RP national team since the 2002 Tiger Cup where the Filipinos bowed to Indonesia, 1-13.

“I think we were unable to adapt to the game,” said national coach Aris Caslib, who missed suspended top defender Aly Borromeo.

Unlike in last year’s qualifying tournament, where they won two matches and drew against then defending champion Tajikistan, the Filipinos ended up with just one win coming at the expense of winless Bhutan, 1-0, and two defeats, including the 1-3 loss to Maldives.

Caslib attributed the finish to the team’s short preparation for the tournament.

“We only had three practices before the tournament,” Caslib said.