MANILA, Philippines - In spite of scoring a handful of goals at the recently concluded AFC Challenge Cup, Azkals striker Phil Younghusband would rather share the credit with his team mates than take it all for himself.
The six goals he collectively scored from the Azkals' matches against five other countries have merited Phil the Golden Boot award. He also ranked third in the International Football Federation of History and Statistics' World Top Scorer list for March, and joined the roster of Goal.com's Asian Best XI for March.
"Nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng team mates ko kasi kung wala sila then imposible to win the award," he told Bulletin Entertainment and other members of the press at the launch of Snickers' newest campaign on April 13.
The Azkals clinched third place at the Challenge Cup, held last month in Nepal, following the team's victories against Palestine, Tajikistan, and India. It is not surprising then that the Azkals climbed from 156 to 148 in the FIFA World Ranking.
"I think it's great because if Azkals have success then football in the Philippines has success. Hopefully it continues and hopefully we can sustain because we want it to be long-term," said Phil.
He is apparently extra inspired to play football because of his ladylove, actress Angel Locsin, has continued to express her happiness for him and that she is proud of him and his accomplishments.
"I think we've been very lucky and very blessed. She won an award (Best Actress at this year's PMPC Star Awards for Movies for 'In The Name Of Love'), I won an award, so I think we're good for each other. She offered her congratulations… She's been there all the way," the star player added.
Phil took a well-deserved break during the Holy Week, bonding with his brother-team mate James and their younger sister in La Union.
"Nag-surf ako… It was fun. It was my first time… And I was with my family, because I haven't spent much time with my family because we were in Nepal for three weeks. We went to La Union before for a trainers program, and we decided to go back because it was nice, we stayed at a nice resort," he enthused.
Although he didn't get to spend Holy Week with Angel as she was in Hong Kong, Phil assured that "we're in touch. We're always in touch."
His darling Angel
The Filipino-British footballer appreciates how Angel stood up for him amid the criticisms that the team got at the height of the sexual harassment issue involving two other members of the Azkals and match commissioner Cristy Ramos.
"Angel's amazing. She'll fight for everyone she loves and that's the sort of person she is. I feel very happy and very blessed and privileged that I have someone like Angel to defend not just me, she defended the team, she defended everyone involved. She's so supportive of me and the team. It's great to have her around," Phil said at length.
On a lighter note, Phil will work with Angel on the boob tube in his first mainstream acting assignment, a guest appearance on the latter's sitcom, "Toda Max."
"Mas kumportable ako sa loob ng field. It's more difficult to act. I admire the talent of actors. I admired Angel's before, but to see the things she goes through… I'm really proud of her," he related.
No amount of prodding will apparently make Phil define the true status of his relationship with Angel, as he maintained, "Right now, why change something when it's not broken? We're happy, everything's going well… Everyday I fall more and more in love with her."
Phil, along with James and Azkals captain Aly Borromeo, graced the launch of Snickers' latest campaign, "You're not you when you're hungry." The three are self-confessed fans of the brand.
"Sports is an excellent way to show that when you're hungry, you can't really perform at your best. As we know, football is a universal sport, it has become very popular especially in the Philippines with these guys," said Lizette de Guzman, national sales manager of Mars Philippines, Inc., the makers of Snickers.
source: mb.com.ph
