Singapore SEA Games berth for U-23 eleven

THE PHILIPPINE Azkals will get to showcase their stuff in the 28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore next year.

Philippine chef de mission Julian Camacho gave the celebrated men’s national football squad the green light after it was left out of the Philippine delegation in the previous edition of the Games last year.

Though the football competition in the biennial games on June 5 to 16 is limited to under-23 players, Camacho said at least eight members of the Azkals are within the age requirement, which makes the team a strong contender for a medal.

“We have to give some of the team sports like the Azkals a chance,” said Camacho, also the treasurer of the Philippine Olympic Committee. “There are eight to 10 players who are eligible.”

On Wednesday night, the Azkals got booted out of the semifinal round of the AFF Suzuki Cup for the third straight time after Thailand scored a masterful 3-0 win at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.

The Azkals, composed mostly of overseas-born players with Filipino blood, drew the attention of the entire nation when they reached the Suzuki Cup semifinals for the first time in 2010 in Vietnam.

About 500 Filipino athletes from 34 sports will represent the national contingent that will try to improve on its record-low seventh-overall finish among 11 countries in 2013 in Burma. There are 36 sports calendared in Singapore with 402 gold medals at stake.

Going for maximum participation, Camacho said the selection committee, made up of officials of the POC and the Philippine Sports Commission, has yet to decide whether to compete in either netball or floor ball, two sports which the hosts are expected to dominate.

Camacho, also the secretary general of the Wushu Federation of the Philippines, said the Filipinos could win 45 to 50 gold medals based on the evaluation of the national sports associations.