Bienvenido Maranon’s desire to represent the Philippines anew just got a boost.
Officials from the Philippine Football Federation disclosed his potential participation in the 31st Southeast Asian Games this May in Hanoi, Vietnam, Friday afternoon.
As the SEA Games is still an under-23 tournament for the men’s division, each team is allowed two overaged players.
If things fall into place, newly-appointed mentor Norman Fegidero will be able to call on the likes of Johor Darul Ta’zim’s Bienvenido Maranon and United City’s Mark Hartmann.
Photo from UCFC
“We are looking at the striker position as the hole to fill with this squad and hopefully we will be talking to our senior players in Singapore as to who could be available,” said Azkals team manager Dan Palami.
“We’re looking at Bienve Maranon, for example, who wants to play for the Philippines. This will be his chance to have a go at it at a major tournament again. We’re looking at several players. Maybe even Mark Hartmann as a striker as well. These are the options.
“Our back four is now solid. Our midfielders, we have good and experienced players there already. The strikers’ position, that’s where we feel we need to augment our manpower so that’s where we will focus on,” the sports patron continued.
Maranon, who top-scored for the Azkals in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 with four goals, three of which came against Myanmar, would be a key addition to the U-23 team’s forward line in the upcoming SEA Games 2022 in Vietnam.
However, with the tournament taking place from May 6-22, 2022, he will be forced to miss JDT’s matches against PJ City (May 6), Negeri Sembilan (May 11), Pahang (May 18), and Kedah FA (May 21) if his mother team releases him for the competition.
The SEA Games is not part of the FIFA calendar.
If Maranon’s enlistment pushes through, then he will be one of the leaders of the upcoming SEA Games team, which will mostly consist of players from the Azkals Development Team that will also be helmed by Fegidero.
The upcoming Copa Paulino Alcantara 2022 campaign is part of the squad’s preparation for the upcoming regional tournament and it is safe to say that this lineup of young stars has to hit the ground running.
“Right now, if you could see the configuration of the lineup for ADT, it is composed of players who are all eligible to be part of the national team squad for this Southeast Asian Games – meaning they were born 1999 and up,” confirmed Palami. “Some of them have played in the under-23s as well and there’s about five or six who can still qualify for the under-19 championships later in the year.
“It’s gonna be an exciting squad and the intention has always been for the ADT now to form the core of the team for the Southeast Asian Games.”
