MANILA – Five Ilonggo players were selected as part of the Philippine U-16 football team that will compete in the 2018 AFF U-16 Championship from July 29 to Aug. 11 in Surabaya, Indonesia.
Selected as part of the squad are Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo natives James Carl Tuazon, Khent Brian Valenzuela, Jaime Rosquillo, and Rj Vincent Jarandillo, and Konrad Keim Sollorin of Janiuay, Iloilo.
Tuazon and Valenzuela were both from Central Philippine University. Rosquillo is a product of Barotac Nuevo National Comprehensive High School while Jarandillo was from Saint Paul School and Sollorin from Ateneo de Iloilo.
They will join Franc John Barrera, Sirius Cabanlet, Jetrick Fabrigas, Jerome Ang, Raphael Aquino, Paolo Fernandez, Josh Go, Liam Lampayan, Alexis Lampines, Resty dela Cruz, Jan Mitra, Antoine Ortega, Sandro Reyes, Fernando Roxas, Christian Lumapas, Thomas Mcdermott, Florence Tacardon, and Rennard Yu.
The Team Philippines of head coach Reiji Hirata is expected to encounter tough competition in the tournament after being bracketed in Group A with Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Timor Leste.
Group B, meanwhile, is composed of Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Brunei Darrusalam, and Singapore.
Team Philippines will open its campaign against Indonesia on July 29, followed by Cambodia on July 31, Myanmar on Aug. 2, Vietnam on Aug. 4, and Timor Leste on Aug. 6./PN
