Azkals take a break, visit Albay resort

MANILA—After a grueling year that saw them reach the second round of the World Cup qualifying, the Philippine Azkals take a much-needed break as they visit a luxury island resort in Bacacay, Albay Monday.

Misibis Bay, located in Cagraray Island, was personally handpicked by the celebrated football team.

Joining the three-day holiday are Anton del Rosario, Nate Burkey, Roel Gener, Jason Sabio, Richard Pacana, Patrick Ace Bright, Paolo Pascual, Misagh Bahadoran, Josef Malinay, Ricardo Becite and Yannick Tuason.

The Azkals return to action in the Long Teng Cup starting Sept. 28 in Taiwan. The team will be a mix of the seniors team and the Under-23 squad preparing for the Indonesia Southeast Asian Games in November.

The Azkals advanced to the AFC Challenge Cup main tournament for the first time by overcoming Mongolia in pre-qualifying, before finishing second behind Palestine in the group qualifying in Myanmar last March.

The Azkals saw their World Cup qualifying run end last July 28 when they lost to Kuwait, 1-5, on aggregate in the second round.

Still, they already made history by reaching the second round after beating Sri Lanka in their first World Cup qualifying tie in close to 10 years.