A MEDAL remained elusive for the Philippine women's football in the Southeast Asian Games.
The Malditas' quest for the country's first podium finish since 1985 ended in heartbreak after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Myanmar on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Goals from July Kyaw and and Yee Yee Ow in the 78th and 80th minute stole the win from the Malditas, who up until that point looked poised to snag the bronze.
"We were very prepared, we knew what we wanted to do against Myanmar, but when we were attacking, we pushed a lot of players in front, in those transitions we lost a lot of players in the middle," Malditas head coach Let Dimzon said.
"The first goal came from a transition play, they switched right away and that's a problem for our backline.
It was a bright start for the Malditas who looked poised to end a 34-year medal drought in the sport, especially after Quinley Quezada scored in the 57th minute
That play started off a great pass from Sara Castaneda to the leaking Sarina Bolden who then gave Quezada the first goal.
While the Malditas looked really confident right after, it did not take long for Myanmar to recover their footing as Kyaw took advantage of a scramble in the 78th minute to equalize.
That was the shot in the arm that Myanmar needed as they were quick on the counter anew with Ow scoring off a brilliant run on the right flank to take the lead for good.
The Malditas pushed themselves for an equalizer every chance they got but that did not come as they'd have to wait two more years to break the medal dryspell in the sport.
"For just two months of preparation we're very proud of these players. For the last two months they were able to step up," Dimzon said produly.
"It's really painful for us, it's really good for me. The players did their best at siguro it's not for us talaga. "
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