The Philippine women’s national football team will be fighting for a medal in the SEA Games 2025 after beating Malaysia in a crucial Group B encounter.
BANGKOK — The Filipinas are headed to the medal rounds of the SEA Games 2025 after a thorough drubbing of Malaysia, 6-nil, in their final Group B match on Thursday at at the IPE Chonburi Stadium.
The shutout was a welcome development, as the Philippine national women’s football team did just enough to overtake Myanmar in the standings.
After a 1-nil stunner over defending champions Vietnam in their previous game, Alexa Pino played her best game yet in a Filipinas uniform, netting three goals to provide the Philippines with the much-needed cushion to move on via goal difference.
Pino opened the floodgates near the halftime break when she scored the first goal of the match to push the Filipinas ahead.
But knowing the ground they needed to cover, the Filipinas stayed focused and amped up the offense in the second half.
Pino netted her second goal just eight minutes after the halftime break, making it a 2-nil advantage for the Philippines at the 53rd minute.
Jessika Cowart then added another goal at the 67th minute mark, serving as the preface to Pino’s hat trick.
Pino netted her third and final goal of the match from a penalty after Sara Castañeda was brought down inside the box, giving the Filipinas a dominating 4-0 advantage after 70 minutes of play.
Finding their rhythm in the second half, Ari Markey and Castañeda added the icing on the cake, with two more goals at the 86th and 96th minute, respectively, to complete the big win over Malaysia and clinch their spot in the next round.
The Filipinas’ result coincided with a 2-nil win for Vietnam against Myanmar, which proved to be the difference maker for the Filipinas to get through as the second seed in the tournament.
All three countries finished with identical 2-1 win-loss records, with Vietnam and the Philippines moving on.
The Filipinas face hosts Thailand in the semifinals on Sunday, December 14, at Chonburi Stadium.
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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.