PH Malditas debut in style, crush Indonesians

The Philippines launched its Asean Women’s football championship campaign in style by drubbing Indonesia, 6-0, Tuesday night at the Youth Training Center in Yangon, Myanmar.

Joana Houplin, who played for Western Washington University in the US NCAA, delivered a hat-trick to cap a strong second-half performance for the Malditas.

Houplin opened the scoring in the seventh minute, before adding a second two minutes after the break. She completed her hat-trick in the 74th minute.

Also scoring for coach Ernie Nierras’ side was Camille Wilson, who made it 3-0 seven minutes after the restart, and Heather Cooke and Marisa Park, who both found the back of the net in the last 10 minutes.

The lopsided victory boosted the Malditas to the top of Group B ahead of Myanmar on goal difference. The hosts overwhelmed Laos, 5-0, in their tournament debut.

The challenge gets tougher for the Malditas as they face Japan’s Under-23 side Thursday.

Only the top two teams from the group will advance to the semifinals.

The Malditas, already assured of a spot in the Philippine delegation for the Southeast Asian Games, are seeking a first semifinal appearance in the tournament. Cedelf P. Tupas