Azkals tramp Burmese XI behind Marañon hat trick

MANILA, Philippines — Getting a lift from Bienvenido Marañon’s first-half hat trick, the Philippine Azkals wrapped up their AFF Suzuki Cup campaign with a 3-2 win over Myanmar Saturday night on wet conditions at the Bishan Stadium in Singapore.

Naturalized player Marañon, the all-time leading scorer in the AFC Cup, ripped through the Myanmar defense and scored in the 16th, 19th and 45th minutes to give the Azkals a big cushion in the concluding Group A match.

The Pinoy booters slowed down considerably in the second half and had to survive Myanmar’s late charge before getting the full three points and finishing third in the group with six points on two wins and the same number of losses.

Powerhouse Thailand completed a four-game sweep of Group A with a 2-0 shutout out of host Singapore over at the National Stadium to take the No. 1 seeding to the semifinals with a perfect 12 points. The Lions took the second semis slot with nine points ahead of the Azkals.

“Tonight pretty much summed up the run of things. We could have done better in the tournament,” said Azkals coach Stewart Hall, whose charges missed out on the semis for the second time since 2010.

Myanmar gave the Azkals a big scare as Htet Phyo Wai fired consecutive goals in the 74th and 86th minute.