Phl Azkals star turn tour guide

LONDON – Philippine national football star James Younghusband took Olympic swimmers Jasmine Alkhaldi and Jessie Khing Lacuna on a guided tour around the city the other day as a way of showing the warm hospitality of the host nation where he was born.

Younghusband, 25, was born in Ashford, Surrey, near the Heathrow Airport, to an English father Philip James, Sr. and Filipina mother Susan Placer who are now both deceased. At the age of 10, he was recruited to train with the Chelsea football club. Four years ago, Younghusband, brother Phil and sister Keri relocated to Manila for good.

The Younghusband brothers were here to pack up the family belongings in their two-level Ashford home which they are considering to put up for sale. They hadn’t been back in two years and took the opportunity to join friends on a vacation in Spain before attending to family matters here. Phil left for Manila earlier to join the AKTV commentary panel for the Olympics.

ABC-5 broadcaster Lia Cruz joined Younghusband, Alkhaldi and Lacuna on the tour that was documented for TV release. They went to Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard and walked by Big Ben. For lunch, they ate at the Embankment Pier off the River Thames.

“We all had a great time although James kept kidding that we probably know London more than him now because growing up, he hardly visited the city and stayed within Surrey,” said Cruz. “It was nice of James to take us around. He was very busy during his trip because he attended to a lot of things related to his parents. It’s still not sure whether they’ll put the Ashford home in the market but they’re considering it since they all live in Manila now.”

Cruz said Younghusband encouraged Alkhaldi and Lacuna to train even harder for the next Olympics. Alkhaldi, 19, and Lacuna, 18, are homegrown products of the Philippine Swimming Inc. program with Trace College in Los Baños. “They talked about where they’ll go from here,” said Cruz. “Since both Jas and Jessie are only in their teens, they’ve got a long way to go. James spoke about the hard work ahead but if they hope to qualify for the next Olympics, there’s no other way to get the job done.”

Cruz said Younghusband was a knowledgeable tour guide. “We really appreciated that he took time to take us around,” she said. “He wanted us to see the top tourist destinations. We walked around central London and had lots of fun.”

Alkhaldi competed in the 100-meter freestyle while Lacuna was in the 200-meter freestyle event. Both failed to survive their heats. Alkhaldi clocked 57.13 seconds to finish 34th of 50. China’s Tang Yi took the gold with a time of 53.28. Lacuna placed 36th of 41 with a clocking of 1:52.91. China’s Sun Yang ruled the 200-meter freestyle race with a time of 1:46.24.

The Younghusbands will play for opposing teams in a charity dream match sponsored by Clear at the University of Makati pitch on Aug. 25 for the benefit of the Tuloy Sa Don Bosco Foundation. The 20-man lineups of both squads were taken from a fans’ vote of a pool of 50 and consist of celebrities and even Philippine Volcanoes rugby players. The brothers excused themselves from the Azkals’ 17-day US tour that will feature exhibition matches against the Chicago Inferno and the Virgin Islands national squad. The Azkals’ 24-man touring cast includes comebacking skipper Aly Borromeo, Chieffy Caligdong, Rob Gier, Ian Araneta, Jason Sabio and Chris Greatwich.

The Azkals are ticketed for friendlies in Cambodia, Singapore, Laos and Indonesia to warm up for the Asean Football Championships, known as the Suzuki Cup, in Thailand and Malaysia on Nov. 24-Dec. 22. The Philippines made it to the semifinals of the previous Suzuki Cup two years ago on the strength of a 2-0 win over Vietnam, a 1-1 draw with Singapore and a scoreless tie with Myanmar. Last March, the Azkals took third place in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup after beating Tajikistan, India and Palestine. The Younghusbands were at the forefront of both campaigns.