Filipinas make last eight

HANGZHOU — The Philippine women’s football team, Filipinas for short, continues to write and rewrite history in the sport that is currently making the country proud in the international arena.

With Sarina Bolden and Sara Eggesvik finding the back of the net, the Filipinas blanked Myanmar, 3-0, Thursday night and eased into the quarterfinals of women’s football in the Asian Games here.

It was 65 years ago in Tokyo when the Philippines, which used to love football like any other popular sport, made it to the quarterfinals of the Asian Games but on the men’s side.

Only last July, the Filipinas had their countrymen jumping when they debuted in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and stunned host New Zealand, 1-0, along the way.

Over at the Wenzhou Sports Centre Stadium here, the Filipinas reached the Last 8.

Today, they will go up against Japan, the reigning Asian Games champion and world No. 8. for a spot in the semifinals.

“We’re very happy for the team making history again by advancing to the quarterfinals,” said Philippine Football Federation president Mariano Araneta of the team that has tremendously improved via a program supported by businessman Jeff Cheng.

“We knew it was going to be very difficult for the team to progress because other results had to go our way earlier in the day. But the team kept its focus on the task at hand and did an outstanding job against a team that they have struggled to beat in the past,” he added.

Bolden, who scored the country’s historic first goal in the World Cup, struck in the 19th minute to give the Filipinas a 1-0 lead. Then Eggesvik delivered another goal 15 minutes into the second half, and then another one just a minute after.

The victory gave the Philippines a 2-1 record in Group E after a 3-1 win over Hong Kong and a 5-1 loss to topnotcher South Korea, the bronze winner in 2018.

The victory carried the Filipinas into the next round with six points and a +1 goal difference, and yet another page in history.