The Philippines has a golden opportunity to end a 34-year semifinal drought as it faces defending champion Indonesia on Monday in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiangmai, Thailand.

Both sides face-off at 7 p.m. as the Nationals look to solidify their spot in Group C and earn an outright berth to the knockout stage.

The Philippines is coming off a 2-0 victory over Myanmar last Friday thanks to a goal from Alex Monis and an own goal by Latt Wai Phone.

Instead of getting intimidated, head coach Garrath McPherson is looking forward to test his mettle against the Garuda while also trying to make history for the Philippines.

“We have very strong players. The sides that win the games have a better attitude and a mentality so, we are excited at the opportunity to play,” McPherson said.

“You want to play these sides. It’s great. They’ve been able to bring back some players from their senior team and for our players, it’s going to be an opportunity to compete against some of the best players in Southeast Asia.”

The only time the Philippines made it to the semis was back in the 1991 SEA Games when it was hosted in Manila.

More than three decades later, the Nationals can enter the knockout stage again should they beat the Indonesians.

Anything less than a win will leave the Nationals’ semifinal chances out of their hands.

The Philippines will be backed up by Monis, Sandro Reyes and Santi Rublico as they look to enter the semifinal undefeated.

Meanwhile, the Filipinas will seek to bounce back as it takes on powerhouse Vietnam at the Chonburi Stadium.