By Paolo Del Rosario
The Philippines had two national football teams playing at the same time, but unfortunately neither of them could avoid defeat on Friday.
The 10-man Philippine Azkals fell to China, 2-0, in an international friendly at the Guangzhou Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou, China, while the men's under-22 team were outclassed by Singapore, 3-0, in the Merlion Cup at the Jalan Besar Stadium, in Singapore.
A defensive lapse from the Azkals backline saw China steal back possession near the Philippine penalty area in the 14th minute. The hosts whipped in a cross from the right flank, which Wu Xi bundled in to open the scoring in favor of the hosts.
The best chance of the Philippines in the first 45 minutes saw Ceres Negros midfielder Mike Ott skew his shot high and wide in the 22nd minute.
In the second half, China almost added on to their lead early, had it not been for Michael Falkesgaard's acrobatic efforts to parry away a goal-bound free kick in the 53rd minute.
But just a minute later, a long searching ball from the Chinese midfield found an unmarked Zhang Xizhe, who finished with aplomb to make it 2-0.
Things went from bad to worse for the Philippines, with Daisuke Sato being shown a second yellow card for another bookable offense in the 69th minute.
Fortunately for the visitors, China were unable to rub more salt into the wound as they settled for the 2-0 win.
Over in Singapore, the younger Filipino footballers suffered a similar fate.
The Philippines under-22 team started brightly against the hosts, with Jarvey Gayoso testing the keeper from close range as early as the 10th minute of the contest.
But Singapore started to find chinks in the Filipino's armor, threatening from set piece situations near the Philippine penalty area.
After the initial skirmishes, it was the Singapore's Young Lions that broke the deadlock.
Striker Amiruldin Asraf pounced on a weak back pass from Philippine defender Pete Forrosuelo and took on Michael Asiong one-on-one.
Asraf's powerful effort was too much for the Filipino keeper to handle, as Singapore got the opener in 26th minute.
The hosts almost doubled their advantage in the 40th minute, after they saw a header off a free kick bounce off the upright to safety.
Set pieces continued to be the bane of the Philippines in the second half, with Singapore doubling up their lead through an Irfan Fandi header off a free kick in the 62nd minute.
The hosts continued to pile misery on the Filipinos, with Ikhsan Fandi putting the finishing touches on a Singaporean counter attack just five minutes later to make it 3-0.
The Azkals will continue their training camp in China, where they have a friendly with a local club scheduled for Sunday. The Philippines U-22 team will take on Indonesia in the third-place playoff on Sunday in Singapore.
