It was a rousing final day for the 468-strong Philippine delegation as they closed their 28th SEA Games campaigns with four podium finishes including the 2013 haul-tying 29th and record 17th gold medal in men’s basketball.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final episode of At The Games.
By: Aeron Valderrama, Levi Verora Jr, Aldo Tong, and Matthew Li
Basketball: 17th in 18; Gilas Cadets edge Indonesia to take home gold
Photo by SINGOC
The Gilas cadets emerged victorious in a hard-fought battle against and experienced Indonesian side, 72-64 to capture the 2015 Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball gold medal Monday night in front of a boisterous crowd at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.
It was the 17th overall gold medal for the Philippines, which failed to snatch the first-place finish only once in 18 appearances.
Mac Belo led the nationals with 22 points, scoring crucial baskets that stymied the Indonesian run in the second half. Troy Rosario added 12 points and 5 boards, while Kiefer Ravena chipped in 11 points.
The Philippines led by as much as 18 points in the first after a dominant display inside the paint, and carried a 39-26 advantage to the second half before the Indonesians leaned on Mario Wuysang’s heroics to claw back.
A triple by Wuysang capped a 9-1 run, which made it 40-35, before a triple by Almond Vosotros later on gave Gilas more cushion at 46-37.
Belo then scored 6 towards the end of the third quarter to push the lead to 58-47 entering the payoff period, but another 9-1 rally from Indonesia pulled them to within 3, 56-59.
The opposing side went on a dreaded zone, which slowed down Gilas, as the latter was unable to counter the defense without shooters.
A steal by Ravena however that led to a slam and a basket by Rosario later gave Gilas the 63-56 edge and from there held on defensively to capture the gold.
In women’s action, with chances for a podium finish already dead, Perlas Pilipinas entered the match against Singapore with hopes of salvaging pride.
And what was supposed to be a walk in the park for them turned out to be a stiff challenge, before the Philippines stepped up in the end to record an 82-72 win over the host squad Monday in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games women’s basketball tournament at the OCBC Arena.
Badminton: Escueta/Estanislao fall to INA; take home bronze
From Joper Escueta’s Facebook page
Joper Escueta and Ronel Estanislao were the last Filipinos standing in the SEA Games Badminton tournament held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last Monday. However, the Indonesians were more superior in court-control on this day as the Filipino tandem could not keep up with the pace of their opponents.
Escueta and Estanislao were outhustled by Indonesia’s Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo all throughout the match. Constant errors also plagued the highly-touted Filipino tandem as their drops fell short and their smashes fell outwards all throughout. The Filipinos lost in two sets 21-14, 21-12.
Joper Escueta and Ronel Estanislao will take home the bronze medal in the men’s doubles tournament.
Sepaktakraw: Philippines settles for silver
The team of Jason Huerte, Emmanuel Escote, and Rheyjey Ortouste from the Philippines clinched a silver medal in the men’s doubles event at the EXPO Hall 1.
In their semifinals match against Singapore, the Pinoys started off slow, as they were dealt a 12-21 first set defeat. They were able to compose themselves and rallied back, defeating Singapore in the 2nd and 3rd sets, 21-19 and 21-16.
It seemed like the Philippine team continued their groove at the start of the Finals match against Myanmar, as they took a close set 1, 22-20. Unfortunately the team from Myanmar fired back and easily took sets 2 and 3, 13-21 and 16-21.
Squash: Team PH collects another bronze
After placing second in their group, David Pelino and Ricky Espinola advanced to the semifinals with hopes of a chance at the gold in Monday’s final of the jumbo men’s doubles in squash.
In the end, the Indonesian pair of Ade Furkon and Sandi Perdana crushed the Filipino’s title hopes with an 11-8 11-3 victory, relegating the Nationals for the bronze medal. The Philippine squash team ended with three bronze medals in women’s singles, men’s team, and jumbo men’s doubles.
Water Polo: Rude SEA Games exit for the Sirens
In their final match of their debut in SEA Games Water Polo, the Sirens were dealt a huge blow to their morale as Indonesia mercilessly punished the inexperienced wards of Coach Dale Evangelista. By the end of the 32 minutes of action, the scoreboard tallied 20-6 in favor of the Indonesians. It was the Sirens’ fourth straight loss and third straight with a wide margin.
The Sirens kept it close in the first period by scoring two and limiting Indonesia to three, showing determination to end the tournament on a positive note. That only went so far though as the Indonesians prevailed of the Sirens in the second period by scoring seven goals while limiting the Sirens to none. By then it would be clear that the Sirens were out of reach.
Relaxing a bit on the second half, the Indonesians still got past Sirens goalkeeper Kunti Tibby and substitute Jobelyn Ocampo ten times while allowing the lowly Sirens to make four goals. These goals would be irrelevant though as the Indonesian squad secured a win that would grant them the bronze medal in the games.
The Philippine Water Polo program thus suffered its worst performance in SEA Games history with both the Men’s and Women’s teams not recording a win and losing in mostly double-digit margins.
Team Philippines ends 28th SEA Games in 6th, 29 Golds – 36 Silvers – 66 Bronzes = 131 Total
