PHILIPPINE football set another milestone, this time in the Southeast Asian Games after the men’s team booked a spot in the semifinal for the first time since the 1991 edition.
After opening with a 2-0 win over Myanmar, the Philippines followed it up with a 1-0 win over reigning champions Indonesia, with Otu Banatao heading in the lone goal of a long throw deep in injury time.
With Indonesia playing catchup in the second half, keeper Nicholas Guimaraes had to come up big and delivered with back-to-back saves in injury time to frustrate the Indonesians, which now has to beat Myanmar and hope for a favorable results in the other groups to advance to the knockout stage.
The win means the Philippines advances to the final four for the first time since hosting the meet in 1991, when most of the parents of this year’s batch of players were in their youth.
The semifinal stint in the Seag 2025 comes after the Philippines also made the semifinal round for the first time in the 2025 Asean U23 championships last July in Indonesia.