“The Filipinas’ strong start shows their determination to defend their title, which is our goal for this tournament. The team’s chemistry, even with the new players, is impressive and promising. We are proud of their achievement and we are confident this momentum will help them perform better in the next games..” – Philippine Football Federation (PFF) President John Anthony Gutierrez.
The Philippine women’s national football team, also known as the Filipinas, opened their 2025 ASEAN MSIG Serenity Cup campaign with a dominant 7-0 victory over Timor-Leste on Thursday. The win marks a strong start to their title defense in the tournament’s Group B.
Five different players scored for the Filipinas, with Quinley Quezada and Inday Tolentin each bagging two goals. The scoring frenzy began early, with the team netting three goals in the first ten minutes.
Aaliyah Schinaman, making her international debut, scored her first goal just two minutes in with an assist from Chandler McDaniel. This was followed by veteran Hali Long’s header in the ninth minute, her 22nd international goal, also assisted by McDaniel from a corner kick.
Quezada added to the lead with her own two goals in the seventh and 32nd minutes, reaching a career total of 25 international goals.
In the second half, futsal star Dionesa “Inday” Tolentin scored her first-ever international goals for the football team. Tolentin, who was named Woman of the Match, found the back of the net in the 57th and 64th minutes. Another rookie, Adelaide Wrzynski, also scored on her debut, just two minutes after coming on as a substitute.
“We’re very proud of the performance today,” said head coach Mark Torcaso. “But it’s very important for us to continue developing throughout this tournament, into the SEA Games and then obviously into the Asian Cup, because we want to go to another World Cup.”
Team captain Hali Long also commented on the team’s performance. “Overall I think it was pretty good. We got the balls that we’ve wanted more but we definitely could have gotten more,” she said. “There’s just more growing and learning but I’m so proud of the group that we put out today and all the subs that came off the bench had really good energy.”
The Filipinas will next face a rematch against Australia U23 on Sunday. The team aims to repeat their victory from the 2022 edition of the tournament, where they defeated the young Matildas 1-0 in the opening match.
