The Philippine Malditas see no reason why they should be intimidated by formidable opposition in the Southeast Asian Games in Burma (Myanmar) starting next week.
“As promised, this is the strongest team we have for the SEA Games,” said Malditas coach Ernie Nierras yesterday after the team’s training at Emperador Stadium. “There’s really no excuse for us not to be competitive against the best teams in the tournament.”
Landing in the tournament’s “Group of Death,” the Malditas, who leave for Myanmar on Saturday, kick off their campaign against the host Burmese Tuesday. The Malditas will also face 2009 champion Vietnam on Dec. 13.
“It doesn’t matter who we play against. If we want to win the SEA Games, we have to go through the likes of Vietnam and Myanmar. You can even throw Thailand in our group and it still won’t matter to us,” said Nierras.
The powerhouse Thais, who narrowly beat the Malditas, 1-0, early this year, banner Group B which also has lightweights Laos, Timor Leste and Malaysia.