Eduardo Sacapaño, a son of Bago City, made three great saves for the Philippine Azkals in the second half to allow the national team to ride high on the 54thd minute goal of Marwin Angeles and beat for the second time in two months the Singapore Lions, 1-0, in a friendly match at the Cebu City Sports Center last night.

Standing in for Azkals main goalkeepers Neil Etheridge and Roland Muller, Sacapaño’s topnotch performance in Cebu strengthens the team chances in the Suzuki Cup in Bangkok, Thailand which starts on Nov. 24.

With both teams unable to pierce through each other’s defense in the first half and Sacapaño doing a good job defending his territory, the Azkals played more aggressively in the second half to outplay the Lions.

Moving in for a goal in the 53rd minute, Marwin Angeles scored off a cross from Phil Younghusband to Patrick Reichelt to send the Cebu crowd roaring.

Efforts from the Singapore side to counter and equalize were repeatedly foiled with big saves from Sacapaño, who kept his composure on crucial plays in the 75th and 88th minute.

In September, the Azkals also tamed the Lions, 2-0, in another friendly game.

Philippines is grouped against Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar in the Suzuki Cup and hopes to duplicate their top four finish in Vietnam two years ago.*NAB

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