KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- For a team that has only played for the first time as a unit in this tournament, the Azkals have come a long way as they booked a finals berth in the Asia 7s Championship Saturday night, Oct. 12, at the EV Arena Elmina here.

Playing before rainy conditions, the Filipino booters dispatched Hong Kong, 6-1, to arrange a thrilling championship duel with powerhouse Japan in this 7 a-side football event. The Japanese earlier edged host Malaysia, 3-0.

Mark Hartmann delivered the blows for the Azkals, scoring a hat trick in the 32nd minute after Daisuke Sato’s opening goal in the first minute that gave them a commanding 5-0 lead.

Oscar attempted to lift Hong Kong with a goal a minute later, but that turned out to be their last stand as the Azkals maintained their pace throughout with Arnel Amita scoring in the comeback period that iced the game.

Hartmann, who has been the team’s top scorer so far in the tournament, downplayed his performance and gave credit to the squad’s collective effort.

“It’s great to score goals, but it’s also all the other players helping. I mean, I’m just at the right place at the right time,” said Hartmann, whose team replicated their 6-1 triumph over their victims in the group stage.

“We create a lot of chances and I’m that one that’s there to put it in, so it’s not just me. It’s the whole team,” he added.

Azkals coach Hamed Hajimehdi lauded his stalwarts for sticking to their game plan and hoped they could sustain this energy against the Japanese, who have been beating their rivals in lopsided fashions the past days.

“We had a plan against Hong Kong and we’re thankful we got the results we wanted,” said Hajimehdi.

“Against Japan, it’s going to be very difficult for us but we are very good, too. So I think it will be a very close game,” he added, saying that Japan selected the 14 members of its team from the large 1,000 pool of players since they have a 7-a-side league back home.

Even Hartmann anticipated that it would be a tough game against Japan, but was confident of their chances.

“We stand a very good chance (against Japan). I think they’re also worried about us because it’s the first time that they’d seen us play, so I think it’s going to be a great game and hopefully, we can come out with the win,” he said.