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KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Tambadaus will be trying out Puerto Rican international Joseph Marrero Garcia as their fifth import player in the second and final friendly match in the Philippines against Stalion FC at Stadium Binan, Laguna, this afternoon (Thursday).

Team manager Henry Saimpon said the 26-year-old midfielder is hoping to team up with national teammate Hector Omar Ramos Lebron who has made a return to the team after a lapse of one season.

Sabah had earlier also signed 28-year Thai-German attacking player Dennis Buschening, while South Korean defender Park Tae Su and Serbian striker Rodoljub Paunovic are retained from last season.

“Marrero will be playing tomorrow in the match against Stalion. 

“We will see how he fares and whether coach Kurniawan (Dwi Yulianto) will be impressed by him,” he said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Sabah Tambadaus opened their pre-season tour in the Philippines with a 2-0 win over Kaya FC Iloilo at the Binan Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

New head coach Kurniawan got off to a winning start thanks to first half goals from youngster Arius Dius Jais and midfielder Azizzan Nordin.

Henry said it was a good performance and was especially impressed with the display of the youngsters in the team.

“All the players were given the opportunity to play in the match and the youngsters were in high spirit and were quite impressive as they try to grab the first team slots.” However, he believed the team still needs more matches under their belt to prepare for the start of the Super League season on March 1 where they will play Police in the opening match.

“It is still too early to judge the players from this first game and we may need a few more matches in order to further improve the team.

“The result is not our priority at this stage. What is important is for the players to understand and are able to execute the new system introduced by the coach,” he said.

Henry, who is also Sabah Football Association (Safa) Vice President also expressed his thanks to President Datuk Peter Anthony for his support in allowing the team to play the two friendlies in the Philippines.