Philippines through to Southeast Asian finals

BANGKOK, Nov 20 (Reuters) The Philippines qualified for next year's ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship today after taking the runner-up spot in a pre-qualifying tournament in Bacolod City.

The Philippines won the deciding match with Brunei 4-1 to join tournament winners Laos in the finals, which will be co-hosted by Singapore and Thailand from January 12 to February 3.

They join automatic qualifiers Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam while East Timor, Cambodia and Brunei miss out.

The AFF Championships, formerly known as the Tiger Cup, take place every two years.

The winner and runner up in each of the two groups go through to the semi-finals and the final, which are played on a home and away format.

Reuters SAM DB1842