The Philippine indoor hockey and women’s cricket teams suffered defeats at the hands of their Thailand counterparts on the third day of competition in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games held on Monday in the capital of Phnom Penh in Cambodia.
With just four days to go before the formal opening on the fifth, the Nationals took the heat of the competition in the opening of the indoor hockey events, with the women’s team aiming to retain its place on the podium after securing bronze in 2019 at home.
The Thais, who won silver in 2019, poured in five goals in the first half against the Filipinas, ultimately taking the win, 8-0.
This saw Thailand sharing the top spot with defending champion Malaysia and Indonesia with a 1-0 win-loss record. Meanwhile, the Philippines joined host Cambodia and Singapore, still without a win.
On the other hand, the men’s team endured a more devastating loss against Thailand, suffering a 0-14 drubbing.
The 2019 fifth-placers will have their work cut out as they go up against reigning champions Malaysia in their next match, also on Tuesday.
In cricket, the Blue Caps women’s team faced a roadblock in their quest for an opening-day win in the T20 event after losing to Thailand, 9-10, with 10 wickets and 116 balls remaining.
The Thais, who are currently ranked 11th in the world in T20, won the toss, elected to field, and limited the Filipinas to nine runs.
Jhon Andreano, Jona Eguid, Jennifer Alumbro, and Catherine Bagaoisan all scored two runs each for the Blue Caps, with an extra run added for the final count. However, it took only two Thai batters — Nannapat Koncharoenkai, who scored three, and Natthakan Chantham, who scored six, plus an extra run to overhaul the target and end the match.
The Philippines will aim for their first win with an upset of Malaysia, the current world number 28th in T20, on Saturday.
