By: GIL MORIONES
MANILA -- The Under-23 Philippine National Football Team officially concluded their Group Stage saga after a 2-0 win against Brunei in the continuing ASEAN U23 Mandiri Cup held at Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi, Indonesia, Monday night.
While Indonesia and Malaysia shared the spoils due to their goalless draw at Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, the Philippines capped off Group A with two wins and one loss, generating six points.
Despite dominating Brunei with 66 percent of ball possession, 254 accurate passes, and nine shots on target, only two of those were converted into goals by the Nationals.
This includes a missed opportunity by Andres Aldeguer, who fired too high from the six-yard box after being located by Dov Carino in the 5th minute, and the significant penalty miss by Otu Banatao in the 53rd minute, which was easily saved by the Brunei custodian.
Javier Mariona took the penalty spot in the 20th minute after a Brunei defender fouled Jax Peña in the box. It was easily converted, marking the first goal of the game and Mariona’s first international goal for the PMNFT since his debut in 2024.
Harry Nuñez scored the second and final goal for the Nationals in the 84th minute. The goal originated from Otu Banatao, who decided to pass to Mariona. Mariona drove forward and eventually found Nuñez, who simply tapped the ball in with his right foot.
Nuñez recorded his first goal of the tournament, while Mariona has now produced two assists.
Indonesia will proceed to the semifinals, finishing Group A as leaders with seven points, while the Philippines sit in second place and will wait for the results of the final matches in Groups B and C tomorrow.
Malaysia, who were semifinalists in the 2023 edition, were officially eliminated, ending with only one win and two losses — including their 2-0 defeat against the Philippines on opening night.
Not including tonight’s results, the Nationals are in a comfortable position to be the Best Second-Placed Team with three points and a +1 goal differential.
As Myanmar and Cambodia remain in contention with both one draw and a loss with zero goal differential, Thailand and Vietnam must either win or draw against them to pave the way for the Philippines’ first semifinal appearance in the ASEAN U23 Championship.
