Jeremiah Borlongan (left) and Sandro Reyes (right). | Cebu FC and Facebook photos
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Dynamic Herb Cebu Football Club’s ace winger, Jeremiah Borlongan, and former youth standout, Sandro Reyes, have officially joined the Philippine men’s national football team’s lineup for the upcoming Merdeka Cup in Malaysia this September.
This was announced earlier this week by the Philippine men’s national football team, stating that Borlongan and Reyes will fill the spots left by Oskari Kekkonen and Jesse Curran, who had to withdraw from the lineup due to unforeseen circumstances.
Despite these changes, the national team found fitting replacements in Borlongan and Reyes, who are experienced in representing the Philippines in international tournaments.
Borlongan has received numerous call-ups to the national team over the past few years while playing for Dynamic Herb Cebu Football Club in the Philippines Football League (PFL). He is one of the club’s toughest defenders and an ever-reliable winger.
He was also part of the U23 team for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, where he played alongside fellow University of the Philippines (UP) teammates Christian Lapas and Marco Casambre.
Meanwhile, Reyes, a midfielder, last played for the Regionalliga Bayern club Greuther Fürth II. Like Borlongan, he is also a regular member of the Philippines’ youth teams, having played for the Philippines U16, U19, and U23 teams.
Borlongan and Reyes will join team captain Neil Etheridge, along with Patrick Deyto, Kevin Ray Mendoza, Patrick Reichelt, Amani Aguinaldo, Jarvey Gayoso, Simen Lyngbo, Jesper Nyholm, Jefferson Tabinas, Adrian Ugelvik, Scott Woods, Justin Baas, Zico Bailey, Matthew Baldisimo, Michael Baldisimo, Patrick Strauss, Dylan Demuynck, Bjorn Kristensen, and Alex Monis.
Their first match will be against the host, Malaysia, on September 4. They will play under the newly-appointed interim coach Norman Fegidero, following the resignation of Belgian head coach Tom Saintfiet earlier this week.
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