Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso said the bulk of his core players will be available for the Southeast Asian Games.
The Filipinas are expecting most of their core players to be available in their latest bid for a gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games set in Thailand this December.
During the tail end of their camp in Manila for the October FIFA window, head coach Mark Torcaso said that they’ll likely be a complete team, even if the SEA Games isn’t happening on a FIFA window, which has historically meant that it’s a struggle to get players released from their clubs.
[READ: Filipinas hope to be ‘100% focused’ in friendly vs Uzbekistan]
But with only weeks left before the team flies to Chon Buri for the women’s tournament beginning at the start of December, Torcaso said he’ll have enough pieces.
“Obviously the tough campaigns that we have is a lot of our tournaments aren't always in FIFA windows. But we're pretty excited because we do have a lot of our players available for December, including the girls that are in the top colleges as well,” Torcaso said in a brief press conference on Tuesday.
“So players that are playing here, that are playing abroad, everyone is up for selection and we're using every opportunity to pick the best possible side to get a medal in those games.” he continued.
Roster still uncertain
With more than a number of viable pieces expected to be available, Torcaso is still looking at how things unfold in the next few weeks before ultimately deciding who to select for the trip to Thailand.
An international friendly against Uzbekistan is slated for Wednesday night, and it will likely dictate most of the factors on who to send for their bid for a historic finish in the regional tournament. Even with World Cup veterans at the helm, Torcaso said that there aren’t any shoo-ins at this point.
“Obviously it's nothing that I want to share right now because everyone still has to fight for a position,” said Torcaso.
“That's the most exciting part about this process is that we've got so many players both here and abroad that play and we're going to pick the best possible side.”
The Filipinas are in Group B of the tournament along with Myanmar, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Top two teams in the group stage move forward to the knockout stage.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.