Azkals tweet treats: 1st day in Mongolia [3.13.2011]

One week has now passed since I created LoveAzkals fanpage in Twitter and this blog.  It was such an enjoyable journey because the world of sports, particularly football, is a new territory for me.

My first blog on Metro Society is the most popular post to-date largely because of Jason Sabio who posted the link in his page a few hours after I created this blog.  Without him knowing, it encouraged me to learn more about azkals.

After a week I can say I am starting to get familiar with different personalities that comprised Azkals.  Apart from they superior skills in football, their hardworking attitude and dedication to give their best plus playful personality which became more apparent on their way to Ulan Bator, Mongolia made me realize why they are so lovable.

In my 1st weeksarry, it was a treat receiving a complimentary tweet from Patrick Ace about my blog.  Thanks for that sweet tweet.  Getting followed by Chieffy yesterday is special bonus since he is the pride of our province.


About azkals in Mongolia, I will not be posting all the tweets they posted since various online media portals have already reported them so I will focus on photo blog.

Simon Greatwich in South Korea airport waiting for the flight to Mongolia via Beijing.  He met Dyan Castillejo from ABS-CBN who carried Simon's passport from Manila.  Credit photos to Dyan Castillejo's twitter.

Icelandic-Filipino defender Ray Anthony Johnsson was flying from London to Mongolia via Beijing with 8 hours layover.  That's an exhausting trip!   Filipino-Dutch midfielder Jason de Jong is also expected to fly in from Indonesia.  I did not see any confirmation whether both azkals have already reached Ulan Bator.

Jason Sabio, Simon Greatwich, Phil Younghusband at Palace Hotel lobby in Ulan Bator.  Photo credit to Simon's twitter

The team reached Mongolia yesterday at 5:00 AM in a freezing -20 degree Celsius temperature.  Mongolia Football Federation confirmed receiving 19 players and 8 officials.  The team is staying at Palace Hotel. With the series of luck azkals have been getting it is no surprise hearing that their luggage have been mishandled by the airline. The team got their luggage at 4:00 A.M the following morning which they were told to pick up from the airport. It's freezing cold!



So how the team passed their time in Mongolia?  

Jason Sabio asked Bianca Gonzales on Twitter, which reminds me of Phil Younghusband when he asked Angel Locsin.  At least now, the two are friends based on their interviews.

Jsabio3: @iamsuperbianca Happy Sunday. Would you like to grab a cup of java while im in Manila? Mary Grace at ATC? Hope all is well.  about 17 hours ago

 Jsabio3: @iamsuperbianca Thanks for the best wishes! It is cold, but not unbearable. @SimonGreatwich and @PhilYHusband are keeping me warm! haha about 14 hours ago

Phil and Jason played a prank on Simon who was trying to take a nap.

Simon Greatwich, photo credit to Jason Sabio

Team Captain Aly Borromeo took a walk outside to check out the game pitch. He tweeted he almost turned into ice.

Aly in the hotel lobby.  Photo credit to Simon's Twitter

Tweets of other members of the team ...

JYH53: Just chilling with some pancit given from @acebright.  about 12 hours ago

Jsabio3: Found out today Reymark Palmes says @cristineklenk is really beautiful and Peter Jaugan has a crush on @Kaye_abad.  about 16 hours ago

ianaraneta23 watching tom and jerry show...i miss this!...hehehehe...lol about 11 hours ago: 

anton_delro: Oh boy! -17 degrees and counting. Earlier wasn't too bad, gotta play in the snow but we still have to test it out with our uniforms on! :S about 8 hours ago 

Tophcam2: GOOD NIGHT EVERYONE :D SLEEP WELL!! TIRED... :( PLAYED IN THE SNOW TODAY HEHE :P @anton_delro made some snow angels! hahA! about 8 hours ago

Biggest movie star in Mongolia Bolormaa Nadaam meets bigtime azkals star @philyhusband but doesnt know who phil is.  via Simon Greatwich's twitter

Tired, sleepless Azkals 'frozen'

By Abac Cordero (The Philippine Star) Updated March 14, 2011 12:00 AM


MANILA, Philippines - Azkals team captain Aly Borromeo checked out the pitch yesterday and couldn’t believe what he saw.

“(It) almost turned into ice,” he said on his Twitter account.

Worse, the Azkals couldn’t even get to practice and warm up because their luggage got lost somewhere in transit.

The Azkals are tired, cold and weary in Mongolia.

With only two days before the match, the Azkals are just trying to keep their confidence at a high level.

“Yesterday is over and done with,” added Borromeo from Ulan Bator, the freezing Mongolian capital where yesterday’s weather was at a low of -13 and a high of -24 degrees Celsius.

Borromeo said they’re all hoping for the best.

“Greater expectations, greater results ahead,” he said.

“Two days until game time. It’s time to focus,” said defender Anton del Rosario, who was quite surprised to find Filipino fans in Mongolia.

“What are all these Filipinos doing in Mongolia? We’ll have more fans than Mongolia,” he said.

Borromeo and the Azkals travelled almost 24 hours to get to Ulan Bator Saturday, all the way from earthquake-ravaged Gotemba in Japan via Beijing.

It was a treacherous journey out of Japan considering the damage caused by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck its northeastern coast.

The Azkals were in a training facility in Gotemba, 174 kms away from Tokyo when the great earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. Friday.

The Azkals almost got stranded in Gotemba, and their March 15 match with Mongolia almost threatened. But the Japanese Football Association made sure they safely got out of the country.

It wasn’t easy.

The Azkals had to take a bullet train to Tokyo in the morning, and were stranded at the Narita International Airport because of flight delays.

They managed to board the plane to Beijing at around 8 p.m. and caught a connecting flight to Ulan Bator past midnight.

The Azkals arrived in Ulan Bator past 4 a.m., and, all wrapped in their Columbia thermal gear, were met by the terrible winter conditions. Ulan Bator is said to be the coldest national capital in the world.

Worse, they arrived minus their luggage, which got left behind in Beijing, and was to be brought to the Palace Hotel yesterday afternoon.

“We safely arrived in Mongolia. It’s 4:30 a.m. Definitely ready for bed,” said Simon Greatwich on Twitter.

Azkals take risky route to U Bator

MANILA, Philippines – The resilient Azkals took the risk as they left the training facility in Gotemba, Japan yesterday morning just to catch their evening flight to Ulan Bator, Mongolia via Beijing.

The Azkals arrived safely at the Narita International Airport after taking a bullet train. They boarded the Air China flight to Beijing past 8 p.m.

They were scheduled to arrive in Beijing at 11:30 p.m., with very little time, 40 minutes to be exact, to catch the flight to Ulan Bator at 12:10 a.m.

“(We’re) at the (Narita) boarding gate. Been traveling nine hours and not even on the plane. (We) carried boxes around Japan literally by foot,” said Phil Younghusband on his Twitter.

The Azkals hooked up with teammate Jason Sabio who had been at the Narita Airport since Friday’s earthquake.

Simon Greatwich, who also came in from the United States, but on a different flight, ended up in Incheon, South Korea, and was on his way to Ulan Bator last night.

The earthquake that struck the northeastern coast of Japan the other day left the Azkals, in Gotemba since Monday, in a tight situation as they prepared for Tuesday’s match.

As of Friday evening, there was no certainty if the Azkals would be able to fly out of Japan which was struck by the seventh strongest earthquake in history.

Team officials feared that if the Azkals left Gotemba for Tokyo by bus, and travel around 170 kms, they might get stuck somewhere along the way.

And it was very hard to guess what might happen considering all the damage caused by the earthquake that left hundreds dead, with continuing threats of a tsunami and aftershocks.

Tokyo was a gridlock as of midnight of Friday, with traffic at a standstill, and an ordinary one-hour drive took at least five times longer.

The situation left football president Nonong Araneta and Azkals team manager Dan Palami, who were in Manila, in a quandary.

They thought of pushing for a cancellation of the March 15 match with the Mongolians, and push it back to a couple of days until things normalize in Japan.

But amid all these, the Azkals kept their supporters updated via Twitter, assuring everyone that they are all safe in Gotemba, which is far off the coastlines of Japan.

Araneta and Palami moved their flights to Ulan Bator via Incheon, South Korea from yesterday noon to tomorrow, meaning they will get there on the eve of the match.

But the Azkals, fortunately, did manage to get out of Gotemba, and safely to the Narita Airport on their way out to Ulan Bator.

“The Japanese Football Association did everything they could to make sure the team gets to the airport safely,” said Araneta.

Greatwich joked on his Twitter account that Sabio “has been stuck at the airport for so long he’s starting to look like Robin Williams in Jumanji.”

Del Rosario said the Narita Airport “looked like a hotel and the floor are the beds.”

Speaking of Sabio, Del Rosario said in jest, “He’s right next to me in one piece but he stinks.”

Sabio replied, “Anton is right. I smell. I smell like roses and butterflies.”

The Azkals will play the Mongolians in Ulan Bator at around 1 p.m. Tuesday, under freezing weather conditions, and would rely on their Columbia thermal outwear to fight it off.

The Azkals defeated the Mongolians at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City, 2-0, last Feb. 9, and now the hosts need to win by a margin of at least three goals to boot the Azkals out.

/via Philippine Star (by Abac Cordero, 3/13/2011)

Azkals lost to Kanto U, 1-8, in 2nd friendly match

(UPDATE 2) MANILA---The powerful earthquake that struck most of Japan on Friday spared the city of Gotemba, where the Philippine football team is training for the second leg of its AFC Challenge Cup showdown with Mongolia in Ulan Bator next week.

Several members of the team yesterday gave assurances that the contingent of 24 players, coaches and team staff were safe in Gotemba, a city at the foot of Mount Fuji, three hours away from the Japanese capital Tokyo.

The Azkals had actually just finished a scrimmage against Kanto Gakuin University when the earthquake, measuring 8.9 on the Richter Scale, rocked Japan.

Minus several key players, the Azkals again lost to Kanto U in lopsided fashion, 1-8, in their final tuneup before leaving for Mongolia Saturday night.

‘Dizzy from the game’

“We just finished playing when the quake hit,” said skipper Aly Borromeo on his Twitter account.

“We thought we were all dizzy from the game.”

Borromeo added: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the locals in Japan. Don’t worry about the team. We are all safe over here.”

“The team is all right here,” said defender Anton del Rosario. “It’s very bad out here. Flooding everywhere, but we’re far from it.”

“The Azkals are safe,” assured Azkals team manager Dan Palami, who arrived from Japan on Wednesday after observing their training for three days. “[They] felt the tremors, but otherwise [they’re] okay.”

Palami, however, expressed concern over the status of the flight of the Azkals to Ulan Bator tonight since the Narita Airport near Tokyo remained closed.

Philippine Football Federation president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta also said the PFF was still tracing the whereabouts of United States-based Simon Greatwich, who was scheduled to arrive at Narita Airport yesterday. The flight of another US-based player, Jason Sabio, arrived after the quake.

Looking for Greatwich

Greatwich was in a United Airlines flight from Houston which was scheduled to arrive in Tokyo at 2:30 p.m. Friday. Araneta said Greatwich’s flight could still be airborne or have been diverted to Osaka Airport.

Sabio’s Japan Airlines flight from Chicago reportedly arrived in Tokyo after the earthquake struck.

“Sabio is in Tokyo, but we have not gotten in touch with him yet,” said Araneta.

Sabio first contacted Inquirer Sports through Twitter and said that he has safely landed in Tokyo, but the passengers in the JAL fight were asked to stay in the plane as airport authorities inspected the damage on the airport.

"Touchdown safely. Narita evacuated. In plane for 3 hrs. Don't know how long I'll be on the plane. Ground shakes every so often," posted Sabio at 6:30pm (Manila time).

/via Inquirer (3/12/2011)

Azkals safe in Japan

MANILA---The powerful earthquake that struck most of Japan Friday spared the city of Gotemba, where the Philippine football team is currently training for the second leg of its AFC Challenge Cup showdown with Mongolia in Ulan Bator next week.

Several members of the team yesterday assured that the contingent of 24 players, coaches and team staff are safe in Gotemba, a mountainous city three hours away from the Japanese capital of Tokyo.

The Azkals had actually just finished a scrimmage against Kanto Gakuin University when the earthquake measured at 8.9 on the Richter Scalerocked Japan.

“We just finished playing when the quake hit,” said skipper Aly Borromeo on his twitter account. “We thought we were all dizzy from the game.”

Borromeo added: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the locals in Japan. Don’t worry about the team. We are all safe over here.”

“The team is alright here,” said defender Anton del Rosario. “It’s very bad out here. Flooding everywhere but we’re far from it.”

“The Azkals are safe,” assured Azkals team manager Dan Palami, who arrived from Japan Wednesday after observing training the past three days. “Felt tremors but otherwise okay.”

Palami, however, expressed concern on the status of the flight of the Azkals to Ulan Bator tonight since the Narita Airport in Japan remains closed.

Philippine Football Federation president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta also said the PFF was still tracing the whereabouts of two United States-based players – Simon Greatwich and Jason Sabio – who were scheduled to arrive at Narita Airport today (Friday).

Greatwich was in a United Airlines flight from Houston which was scheduled to arrive in Tokyo at 2:30 p.m. Friday. Araneta said that Greatwich’s flight may still be airborne or diverted to Osaka Airport.

Sabio’s Japan Airlines flight from Chicago has reportedly arrived in Tokyo after the earthquake struck. "Sabio is in Tokyo, but we have not gotten in touch with him yet" said Araneta.

Sabio first contacted Inquirer Sports through Twitter and said that he has safely landed in Tokyo, but the passengers remain stranded inside the airplane with limited internet connection.

"Touchdown safely. Narita evacuated. In plane for 3 hrs. Don't know how long I'll be on the plane. Ground shakes every so often," posted Sabio at 6:30pm (Manila time).

/via Inquirer (by Cedelf P. Tupas, 11/03/2011)

Azkals safe, offer prayers to Japanese affected by quake

The Azkals, currently training on higher ground in Japan, are safe, according to a tweet by team manager Dan Palami. A powerful earthquake, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, struck Japan Friday afternoon, the biggest to hit that country in seven years. The earthquake's epicenter was at sea off Sendai City, two hours north of Tokyo.

The Azkals are conducting high-altitude training in Gotemba City (elevation 1,500 feet), Honshu, on the eastern foot of Mount Fuji, south of Tokyo. They've been in Japan since Monday as part of their training to acclimatize themselves to the cold Mongolian temperature for their match against the Blue Wolves, the Mongolian national team, on Tuesday, March 15.

Palami added in his tweet that airports have been closed and that "hopefully it won't affect flight to Mongolia" on Saturday.

Other Azkal team members also tweeted about their condition. From team captain Aly Borromeo: "Thoughts and prayers go out to all the locals here in Japan, don't worry about the team guys. We're all safe over here!"

Defender Anton Del Rosario tweeted: "Just a heads up, we're all okay. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers... We didn't even feel the earthquake. Hopefully we get to make it out to Mongolia on time. Please offer prayers to the people in Japan affected by this tragedy."

The United States Geological Survey estimated the epicenter at 130 kilometers (km) east of Sendai, Honshu; 178 km east of Yamagata, Honshu; 178 km east-northeast of Fukushima, Honshu; or 373 km northeast of Tokyo.

According to a Reuters report, the USGS said the quake struck off-shore 81 miles (130 kms) east of Sendai in Honshu at a depth of 15.2 miles (24 kms).

The massive earthquake shook buildings in Tokyo, causing "many injuries," at least one fire and triggering a four-meter (13-ft) tsunami, NHK television and witnesses reported.

There was also a warning of a 10-meter high tsunami following the quake. -- with a report from Miakka Lim, GMA News

/via GMA News (March 11, 2011 04:18 PM)

Azkals on a high below zero

Members of the Phl Azkals are all wrapped up to combat the Gotemba cold in the first day of training in a mountain-resort football facility in Japan.

MANILA, Philippines - The Azkals felt good training under zero degree weather yesterday in Gotemba, Japan.

“It’s cold but amazing. Cozy place, great soccer complex and great food,” said defender Anton del Rosario on his Twitter account.

“But no wifi,” added the 28-year-old from California.

Team captain Aly Borromeo also talked about the absence of wifi in their training quarters located near the foot of Mt. Fuji.

“We are in the boondocks four hours away from Tokyo. No wifi around here and you would’ve thought a country like this would have wifi everywhere,” he said on Twitter.

But seriously, Borromeo said everything went well on their first day of training in Gotemba as they geared up for their March 15 match in Mongolia.

“Zero degree at practice earlier. All the boys didn’t seem to mind the cold too much,” added Borromeo.

The Azkals arrived in Narita the other night and took a 174 km ride to Gotemba where they will stay and train until they depart for Mongolia on March 13.

Team manager Dan Palami posted a team picture taken upon their arrival in Gotemba, with the Azkals all bundled up in their winter clothing.

For most of them, it’s their first time to experience weather this cold. And it only gets tougher in Mongolia, in Ulan Batur, where the weather was minus-11 yesterday.

But to them, it doesn’t really matter anymore.

The match with the Mongolians will be played at 1 p.m., and it won’t make a difference because even at that time the weather will be near freezing point.

It’s the main reason why the Azkals took the trip to Gotemba more than a week before the match in Mongolia.

The Azkals beat the Mongolians at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod last Feb. 9, 2-0, under weather as high as 25 degrees.

To turn things around, the Mongolians must win by a margin of three goals at least. Otherwise, the Azkals advance to the AFC Challenge Cup group stage against Bangladesh, Nepal and Palestine later this month.

Chieffy Caligdong, who scored the opening goal against the Mongolians at Panaad, said the thermal wear provided for the team by their official outfitter Mizuno does help.

“We’re using it. The team is okay but we’re adjusting to the cold, with some coughing on my part. It’s just too cold out here. New climate,” he said.

Caligdong is also on Twitter.

/via Philippine Star (by Abac Cordero, 3/9/2011)

Azkals not affected by 7.2 quake in Japan

THE Philippine Azkals were not affected by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck 160 kilometers east of the main Honshu island of Japan yesterday, according to a report on the team’s Facebook page.

"A member of the Azkal coaching staff has confirmed the team was not affected by the recent earthquake in Japan," wrote the administrator of the page, referring to the team currently training in Gotemba City at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

The Filipino booters have been in Japan since Monday under the auspices of the Japan Football Association for the final phase of their buildup for the return march of their Asian Challenge Cup series against Mongolia on March 15 in Ulan Bator.

They beat the Blue Wolves 2-0 in the opener of the series last Feb. 9 at the Panaad Sports Complex in Bacolod City and need only a draw to advance to the group stage in Myanmar starting on March 21.

Messages posted by some players on the social networking site Tweeter showed the players were not affected by the jolt.

"Time to get some shuteye. First practice game tomorrow..first time to play a Jap team! Go Pilipinas!" co-captain Aly Borromeo tweeted.

"Quick tweet before taking a nap... HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY! Haha, love that word! "Wonderful wonderful wonderful" (Movie Trivia: who says it?)" defender Anton del Rosario wrote in a separate tweet.

While his teammates were coping with the bone-chilling Japanese weather, regular goalie Neil Etheridge was loaned by his club, Fulham, to injury-hit second division squad Charlton Athletic.

"The 21-year-old Enfield-born Philippine international will go straight into the Addicks squad for Tuesday night’s trip to Milton Keynes," the BBC news website reported last Tuesday.

/via Malaya (by BONG PEDRALVEZ, 3/10/2011)