The Philippine U16 team ruled the four-team competition at the 2025 Lion City Cup in Singapore.
The Philippine U16 squad ended up on top of the standings at the 2025 Lion City Cup in Singapore and were officially crowned champions of the four-team competition on Sunday evening, July 13 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Singapore’s 4-1 win over Hong Kong in the closing match sealed the Philippines’ fate which marked the country’s first championship title in the tournament since its revival back in 2013.
The squad was made up of players from various regional football associations such as the National Capital Region, Zamboanga del Norte, Central Visayas, Laguna, Negros Occidental, and Davao. They were coached by Tetsuya Tsuchida.
The Lion City Cup, one of Asia’s longest-running youth football tournaments and featured teams from the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, and Hong Kong in this year’s edition.
The Philippines won the title after ending up with two wins and one draw — garnering a total of seven points.
They opened their campaign with a 2-nil win over the hosts last July 9 and followed it up with a 1-1 draw against Hong Kong on July 11.
The Filipino youngsters ended the campaign with 3-1 victory over Cambodia.
"We salute our U16 youth team for bringing this honor to our country! Your victory brings not only pride and joy, but great hope to the young aspiring Filipino footballers from across our nation. Truly you have shown what a team can achieve with unity and solidarity. Mabuhay kayo!" said PFF President John Gutierrez of the victory.