Five UST Golden Booters have been named to the Philippines’ men’s under-23 team pool as the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) kicked off its preparations with a talent identification exhibition match on April 28 at the Mall of Asia Sky Pitch in Pasay City.
All products of the UST Junior Golden Booters program, the selected players are Kyler Escobar, Rodrigo Mariñas, and rookies Daniel Caganaan, Stephen Flores and Vincenzo Solidum.
Escobar, Mariñas and Flores were part of the UST squad that finished third in the UAAP Season 88 men’s football tournament after a semifinal loss to the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws.
Flores, Solidum and Caganaan were members of the Junior Golden Booters squad that made history in Season 87 by dethroning the FEU-Diliman Baby Tamaraws to capture the program’s first title.
Mariñas brings prior international experience, having represented the Philippines in the AFF U-19 Championship in Indonesia and the AFC U-20 Asian Cup in Thailand in 2024.
The national team pool was formed following the PFF’s monitoring of domestic competitions over the past six months.
The federation is also set to hold another talent identification camp in San Diego, California, in May 2026 for Filipino-eligible players based in the United States.
