The Philippine national judo team punctuated their 33rd Southeast Games campaign in style, closing the competitions with a gold in the mixed team on Sunday at the Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi in Bangkok, Thailand.
Down 1-3 in matches and needing to win two straight to send the contest into a seventh and deciding match, young upstart Esleken Kedo and UAAP standout Joemeri-Heart Rafael took down their opponents, both via ippon, to set the decider.
With the luck of the draw on his and the Filipinos’ side, the 20-year-old Esleken Kedo quickly pulled off a throw and an ippon of his own to give the Nationals a first-ever gold in the event, after back-to-back heartbreaking semifinal losses and bronze-medal finishes.
The Filipinos ended the games with two gold medals (adding that to Chino Sy’s men’s -100 kg title), three silvers, and two bronzes.
