FILIPINAS coach Mark Torcaso sees the just-concluded training camp in Manila as a productive one after seeing several players – locally and internationally – up close and personal.
The camp held at the Mall of Asia Football Field was the second that was held under Torcaso’s watch in the country, but it was the first that saw the big names such as Sarina Bolden attending.
The previous one held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium last August was a talent identification camp.
The training camp was in lieu of holding friendly matches during this FIFA international window, with some of the 32 players called being members of the age-group national teams and local talents.
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“There’s so many Filipinos all around the world and having the opportunity to be able to bring in 10 or 11 new players into this camp provided competition for us,” said Torcaso at the close of camp on Tuesday
“There was a lot of discussion around why aren't we playing against another country. That was as good, I believe, in regards to competition and we played against our own players, our own girls are going to be part of our future. For me it was a really good,” said Torcaso.
While everyone stood out from the younger players, Torcaso said there were also a few who shone brighter in the camp including 17-year-old Ari Markey, 18-year-old Bella Pasion, and 17-year-old Alexa Pino.
Torcaso also mentioned homegrown talents and recent Far Eastern University graduates Dionesa Tolentin (24, Zamboanga Del Norte) and Erma Balacua (24, Cagayan Valley) as some of the players who also made a big impression in the camp.
“Let's be honest, there was two or three really young players out there, Ari Markey, Alexa Pino, Bella Pasion, who are part of our U-20 team, they are constantly developing and surprising us and that’s what it is all about. It’s having these players be part of this environment to improve.”
“We saw Inday Tolentin come on and was excellent, and she’s someone that is a big part of our project down forward. And we also had Erma join our environment as well. For us, again, it’s just about creating a nice big pool of players and having good strong players so we can be very, very competitive in the future,” said Torcaso.
With the talent that around, Torcaso said he doesn’t mind having a difficult time in selecting the players that will be seeing action in the AFF Championship and Southeast Asian Games in the near future, and in the bid to make it back to the Women’s World Cup 2027 in the long run.
“That has to be my job and that has to be the priority for me. I have to have a headache, I believe, at the end of every camp to pick the best players for the next camp. I feel sometimes it’s not the best if you've only got a selected handful that you always pick. You need competition for us to be strong again and going forward and go to another World Cup.
“I think that we have to have that competition. It’s very important to have competition,” said Torcaso.
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