For more than half a century, the Philippines assumed the form of a punching bag for regional football powerhouse Thailand.

But on Friday night at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila, the Philippines got rid of that ugly tag when it scored a stunning 2-1 victory in the first leg of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup semifinal round.

Not only was this the first time the Nationals defeated the War Elephants in the tournament, but this also ended a 52-year wait for a win against our Southeast Asian neighbors since the Jakarta Cup in 1972.

For Sandro Reyes, the team’s struggles in the group stages simply fueled their drive.

The Philippines started the tournament with three 1-1 draws against Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam before finally getting a 1-0 victory over Indonesia last 21 December.

“We suffered throughout the entire group stage. I think the group stage was the perfect preparation for today because we endured so many challenges,” Reyes said.

“We went through hell and came out stronger. We were exhausted, but we got out of hell, scored the last-minute goal, and there’s not much else I can say. The fans were amazing — they stayed with us until the end,” he added.

The Philippines had to fight tooth and nail against Thailand to get the victory.

Reyes scored the first goal of the match in the 21st minute off an assist from Alex Monis.

Sensing danger, Suphanat Mueanta then scored an equalizer for the Thais in the 45th minute.

Defender Enrique Linares made it 2-1 in the fifth minute of added time off an assist from Paul Tabinas.

With this win, the Philippines hold a 2-1 lead in this two-legged semifinals.

“Today, it was the same thing: we went through hell at the end of the first half and until the end of the game. Thailand had many chances, they were putting pressure on us, and we couldn’t keep the ball. It was very difficult,” Reyes said.

Linares, who started the game after team captain Amani Aguinaldo was suspended from the match after accumulating two yellow cards, said he just did his part and was lucky to have enough force to score the crucial goal of the match.

“We know Amani is an important player for us. He’s the captain. He has (a lot of) experience here,” Linares said.

“We followed the plan of the coach, and lucky for us, we won the game. I threw myself with everything, and I touched the ball. Luckily for the team, it went inside.”

Now, the Nationals have a 2-1 aggregate lead as they head to the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Monday for the second leg of the semifinals.

Despite playing in a hostile environment, the Philippines will have to do everything it can to win again or force a draw to advance to the final for the first time ever.

Philippines head coach Albert Capellas believes his wards are warriors and are ready to take the fight out of the War Elephants in the second leg.

“I’m very happy for the players because they never give up. This team, they’re fighters, they believe, they fight so much for this country,” Capellas said.