Unfazed by the weight of a nation on his shoulders, 20-year-old Jehanz Coro delivered a pitching masterclass to lift the RP Blu Boys back to the top of Southeast Asian softball.
Coro struck out 17 batters as the Philippines defeated Singapore, 3-0, reclaiming the gold medal in the 33rd SEA Games softball tournament on Thursday at Queen Sirikit Stadium in Thailand.
The victory marked the Blu Boys’ ninth SEA Games gold and their first since 2015, after Singapore claimed the title in the 2019 edition held in the Philippines. Softball was not contested in the 2021 and 2023 Games.
This triumph avenged not only the 2019 defeat but also the Philippines’ only loss in the 2025 edition, when Singapore handed them a 7-3 setback in the elimination round, highlighted by two home runs.
The gold medal match, however, told a completely different story. Coro kept the Singaporeans scoreless with a perfect blend of precision, poise, and dominance on the pitching mound.
The left-handed pitcher from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines threw 114 pitches, allowing just two hits and four walks while fanning 17. Remarkably, all outs recorded in the first five innings came via strikeouts.
Complementing Coro’s stellar performance, shortstop Justine Rosales gave the Philippines an early 1-0 lead with a towering homer to deep center in the first inning.
Lyonas De Leon, who went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning with a single to right-center, scoring pinch runner Rustom Cantos. Denmark Bathan also reached home after a throwing error by Singapore right fielder Kian Foo.
Earlier, host nation Thailand secured the bronze medal with a 9-2, five-inning victory over Malaysia.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||||||
| SGP | 2 | 3 |
