Chung, Rublico spearhead U22 Azkals lineup for SEA Games

(image credits: The Philippine Football Federation/Facebok)

After a dismal campaign last year, the Philippine Men's U22 National Team aims to rebound in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games men's football tournament that will start tomorrow.

Spearheading the 20-man lineup for the U22 Azkals are Azkals Development Team (ADT) midfielder Dennis Chung and Atletico Madrid youth player Santi Rublico, who are expected to boost the team's offense.

Chung will bring much needed experience as one of the squad's veterans, having played in the 2019 edition of the tournament while Rublico recently made his senior international debut for the Philippines last March.

Furthermore, most of the squad are dominated by current ADT players like Yrick Gallantes, Andres Aldeguer, Kamil Amirul, Gavin Muens, Harry Nuñez, Quincy Kammeraad, and Justin Frias.

Two UAAP players also made the cut as Dov Cariño (Ateneo) and Enrico Mangaoang (La Salle) joins the final lineup. Both players were also part of the ADT program prior to restarting their collegiate careers.

Headed by former national team veteran Coach Rob Gier, the U22 Azkals will look to improve their dismal group stage exit from the Hanoi Games last year, despite a promising start.

They'll are in Group A, alongside hosts Cambodia, Timor Leste, Myanmar, and Indonesia which they will face tomorrow at 5 PM.

Full PHI U22 roster: Enrico Mangaoang (GK), Quincy Kammeraad (GK), Santi Rublico, Kamil Amirul, Daniel Christensen, Dennis Chung, Andres Aldeguer, Justin Frias, Yrick Gallantes, Dov Cariño, Jacob Peña, Gavin Muens, Noah Leddel, Jaime Sacopon, Carlo Dorin, Pocholo Bugas, Matt Ocampo, Harry Nuñez, David Setters, John Lucero