SIX Azkals mainstays have been tapped to add more bite to the Philippine Under-23 standouts set to see action in the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.
Amani Aguinaldo, Kenshiro Daniels, Mark Hartmann, Manny Ott, OJ Porteria, and Daisuke Sato are part of the 30-man pool composed of United Football League and collegiate stars who are vying for spots in the U-23 roster.
Young stars including Curt Dizon, Nick O’Donnell, who have previously suited up for the Azkals in friendlies and saw action in the AFC Under-23 Cup, are also in the pool that will be trimmed to 20 before the tournament.
[See At least 451 Filipinos competing in 34 sports in Singapore SEA Games]
The U23 Azkals are being coached by Australia’s Jim Fraser.
The Filipino booters are making a return to the biennial meet after failing to get the go-signal in the last edition of in Myanmar.
The last time the Philippines saw action, the squad failed to advance to the knockout stage after finishing at the bottom of its six-team group with just one win in five matches in the 2011 Indonesia Games.
The SEA Games is opening in June, but football matches will already be played late next month.
The 20-man lineup is the fifth largest player delegation the country will send after athletics (34), softball (34), basketball (24), volleyball (24) and rugby 7s (24).
The 30-man pool:
Luis Cesar Abadia
Amani Manuel Aguinaldo
Ronnie Aguisanda
Nathaniel Andrew Alquiros
Arnel Amita
Fitch Johnson Daviz Arboleda
Florencio Badelic Jr.
Mark Anthony Besana
Jaime Vicenzo Cheng
Julian Mariano Clarino
Kenshiro Michael Daniels
Dominic Liam Del Rosario
Curt-Jordan Dizon
Neil Dorimon
Shirmar Felongco
Daniel Bernan Gadia
Joshua Jake Grommen
Mark Andrew Hartmann
John Christopher Kanayama
Nicholas Michael O’Donnell
Manuel Ott
Jose Elmer Porteria
Paolo Salenga
Francisco Jose Primo Santos
Daisuke Sato
Connor Reece Tacagni
Richard Talaroc Jr.
Kennedy Uzoka
Gerardo Valmayor III
Nathaniel Ace Villanueva