Malditas rip Timorese, near semifinals

Former UAAP star Cam Rodriguez zoomed to the top of the scoring charts after bagging another brace as the Philippines overwhelmed Timor Leste, 7-0, last Saturday to close in on a semifinal spot in the AFF Women’s Championship in Chonburi, Thailand.

The 24-year-old Rodriguez, who also scored twice in a 3-0 win over Malaysia on opening-day, set the tone for the Malditas’ relentless charge against the overmatched Timorese.

More importantly, the win gave the Malditas top spot in Group A with six points, ahead of defending champion Thailand, which handily beat Singapore, 8-0, also Saturday.

Hali Long also struck twice for the Philippines, while Charisa Lemoran, Sara Castañeda and Quinley Quezada also found the back of the net for coach Let Dimzon.

“Our goal is to make the semifinals,” said Dimzon, whose team drew a bye on day 3, before taking on the powerhouse Thais on Wednesday. “We’ve had a couple of positive results, but we need to work more on the attacking third, especially based on our match against Timor. ”

The top two teams from each group will clinch a spot in the semifinals which means that even if the Malditas lose to the Thais, they can still advance with a win over Singapore in their final match.