At The SEA Games Episode 9: Golds abound as Team PH climbs to sixth

After duplicating their June 7 golden haul yesterday, Team Philippines took it two steps higher on Wednesday, June 10, at several venues as the action continues at the 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. The country collected 20 medals on Day 10 of the campaign, with nine of them being golds. The delegation also cemented our dominance in some sports by topping their respective medal tables.

Feel the rush of a successful day for our athletes as we present to you Episode 9 of At The SEA Games.

By: Aeron Valderamma, Joseph Bautista, Aldo Tong, Kim Leong, Joaqui Flores, Migs Flores, Levi Verora, Paolo Poblador, and Matthew Li

Find function: Athletics, Boxing, Softball, Water Polo, Archery, Basketball, Billiards, Equestrian, Golf, Bowling, Gymnastics, Volleyball, Petanque, Sailing, Squash, Tennis, Shooting, and Swimming

Athletics: Cray continues his golden run; Cid, Ubas 2-3 in Decathlon

Track Events
Eric Cray once again proved that his top seed position is not to be challenged. He ran away with the gold medal in the 400m hurdles by over a second, defending his title and setting a new SEA Games record.

Cray ran a 49.40 seconds in the finals, well under his personal best and national record from a few months ago of 49.17 seconds, which set him seventh in the world stage at the time – he now ranks ninth.

The multiple national record holder now has two gold medals in his pockets, with only the 4×100 meter relay remaining to get that triple gold achievement.

Veteran Junrey Bano ranked sixth, clocking only 53.07 seconds, almost a second away from his season’s best. Compatriot Kayla Richardson ran 23.71 seconds in the finals of the women’s 200m dash to win silver. Singapore’s Veronica Pereira was in clear control of the race after running 23.60 seconds.

Richardson still has the 4x100m relay to compete at. Regardless of not winning gold in the 200m, she was still able to establish two new personal bests.

In the men’s 800m, Mervin Guarte has once again won silver after running 1:51.51. He would have been in clear victory had he ran his personal best of 1:50.69. Vietnam’s Van Thai Duong won gold with a time of 1:51.43. Compatriot Wenlie Maulas only managed to finish seventh with 1:54.38, over a second under his personal best.

Field Events
Caleb Stuart failed to perform in the Shot Put as he only placed fourth in the competition. He only managed to throw 15.75m, 2.13m away from his personal and season’s best.

The Hammer Throw gold medalist incurred foul troubles in the finals. Had he threw a distance equal to his season’s best, he would have won the gold by over half a meter.

The two men who threw over 17m and won gold and silver were Thailand’s duo consisting of Promrob Juntima and Chatchawal Polyiam, throwing 17.47m and 17.05m respectively.

Stuart still has the Discus Throw to compete at in the third day of competition. However, he only ranks third according to the season’s bests, and fourth according to the personal bests.

Marestella Torres’ comeback in the SEA Games awarded her a bronze medal after jumping 6.41m. Indonesia’s Maria Londa jumped 6.70m to win gold, just 0.01m away from Torres’ personal best of 6.71m. Compatriot Katherine Santos finished fourth after leaping a personal best of 6.40m.

On the other side of the field, Rosie Villarito won bronze after throwing the javelin at 48.44m, only around half a meter away from Vietnam’s Thi Xuan Bui who won silver. Evalyn Palabrica threw 47.49m to win fourth.

Aside from the women’s heptathlon tomorrow, Narcisa Atienza hurled it out also in the women’s shot put. However, she only managed to rank fifth with a throw of 11.61m.

Men’s Decathlon Conclusion
Defending SEA Games champion and national record holder Jesson Cid scored 7065 points to win silver. He was overtaken by Vietnam’s Van Hue Nguyen’s dominant 7232-point performance. Cid was leading the decathlon after eight events. Come the Javelin Throw – ninth event – however, Nguyen was able to throw 13.98m farther than Cid.

Nguyen further solidified this lead after incurring only a two-second difference from Cid’s 1500 meter run. Cid’s score was only four points away to tie his national record, and only five points away to break it.

SEA Games rookie Janry Ubas managed to take the bronze medal after setting a new personal best of 6796 points. Ubas’ dominant performances in the 100m Dash, Long Jump, High Jump, and Pole Vault helped him fluctuate back and forth to his bronze medal position all-throughout the competition.

Performance Summary:

Boxing: Half of the contingent wins gold

There were 11 gold medals at stake in the final day of the SEA Games Boxing tournament at the EXPO Hall 1. The RP boxing team competed in 11 of the finals events and took home five gold medals.

The day opened with Josie Gabuco defending her SEA Games women’s light flyweight crown with a dominant performance against Thailand’s Chutamat Raksat. Gabuco defeated the Thai in sweeping all rounds 3-0.

In the next two finals matches, flyweight Irish Magno and bantamweight Nesthy Petecio lost in their matches to take home silver. Magno and Petecio lost in close matches against Vietnam’s Thi Yen Nguyen and Thi Bang Le respectively with scores of 2-1.

Over at the men’s side, Rogen Ladon also lost by a 2-1 count in the scorecards against Indonesia’s Kornelis Kwangu Langu in the men’s light flyweight finals. Ian Clark Bautista, fortunately, found the favor of the ringside judges in scoring a 2-1 victory over hometown favorite Mohammed Hanurdeen Hamid to take home the flyweight gold. Bantamweight “Super” Mario Fernandez capped his amazing SEA Games run with an emphatic TKO victory over Thailand’s Tanes Ongjunta to win another SEA Games gold. In lightweight finals action, Vietnam’s Van Hai Nguyen could not continue after the second round as the quick hands of Junel Cantancio rattled his opponent to take home the fourth gold for the country. To cap the Philippine contingents run, welterweight Eumir Felix Marcial scored a stunning second round knockout victory over Jia Wei Tay of Singapore.

As a result of the five gold, three silver, and two bronze medal finish of the RP Team, the Filipinos retained the overall boxing champions crown in Southeast Asia.

Softball: Blu Boys and Girls strike Gold once more!

The SEA Games Women’s Softball champions

Kallang Softball Field became the throne for the reigning kings and queens of Southeast Asian softball as the Philippines swept both men’s and women’s division of the SEA Games Softball tournament.

In the men’s side, the Philippines escaped an INA comeback to win 6-4. After being tied 1-1 in the third inning, the Blu Boys bombarded the Indonesian squad with four runs in the fourth inning. INA tried to push for a comeback in scoring three runs in the fifth and sixth inning to go down by just a solitary run. However, a run scored at the bottom of the sixth and a shutout at the top of the seventh inning sealed the win for the Blu Boys.

Over at the women’s side, it was an uncharacteristic performance by the heavy-armed Blu Girls squad as they struggled with their hitting all throughout the game. Fortunately, the defense locked down the Thailand squad into a run-less game. The Blu Girls won 3-0 to secure another gold.

Members of the Blu Boys are Orlando Binarao, DLSU head coach Joseph Orillana, Apolonio Rosales, Isidro Abello, Edmer del Socorro, Jasper Cabrera, Oscar Iv Bradshaw, Ben Maravilles, Denmark Bathan, Gregorio Marquez, William Mendoza, Emerson Atilano, Jeffry Hardillo, Anthony Olaez, Vermon Diaz, Saxon Omandac, and Sonny Boy Acuna.

The Blu Girls are composed of Arianne Vallestero, Elma Parohinog, Angelie Ursabia, CJ Roa, Francesca Altomonte, Florabele Pabiana, Luzviminda Embudo, Garnet Blando, Marlyn Francisco, Veronica Belleza, Annalie Benjamen, Shaira Dimasing, Celestine Palma, Rizza Bernardino, Queeny Sabobo, and Lorna Adorable.

The work is not done for the Ana Santiago-squad, however, as the team will immediately head to Guam for the Asia Pacific Softball Championships.

Water Polo: Sirens debut with a heartbreaking loss

The Philippine Sirens putting up a tough defense | Photo grabbed from Sport Singapore

In their first stint in the SEA Games, the Philippine Sirens showed to the crowd at the OCBC Aquatic Centre that they can be competitive, leading Malaysia by two and keeping them at bay all the way till the end of the third period.

Co-captain Krystal Dela Cruz, who ended the game with two goals, inaugurated the Philippine presence in Women’s Water Polo with her late first period goal coming from a counter-attack. Christine Grace Hipol scored a goal in an extra-man situation to punish the Malaysians. Top-scorer Carla Beatriz Grabador contributed the remaining goals, including a half-line, buzzer-beating heave that put the score at 6-4 in favor of the Sirens – that would, however, be their last goal.

Malaysia, the bronze medalist in the previous edition of the games, capitalized on the Sirens’ inexperience and inability to withstand pressure by scoring three goals and blanking their opponents in the payoff period. It was Malaysia’s super-sub Peh Jia Min’s long-distance shot that completed Malaysia’s come from behind 7-6 win.

The Sirens take a two day break before plunging back into action. They look to improve on their game, most especially their defense, as they face titleholders Singapore this Saturday.

Archery: Team PH hits the mark on Games debut

At the first day of the 28th SEA Games archery competitions, the Philippine contingent finished in respectable positions in the ranking and classification rounds for all events, Wednesday at the Kallang Cricket Field.

The men’s recurve team of 2014 Youth Olympic Games gold medallist Luis Gabriel Moreno, and veterans Mark Javier and Florencio Matan, finished fifth after the classification rounds with 1887 points. Moreno led the Filipino archers with 645 points and finished fifth overall in the individual classification. Matan had 626 points and was in 17th place, while two-time Olympian Javier finished with 616 to end at 23rd. Zander Lee Reyes had 588 to finish just a notch above last place. Moreover, Moreno and Matan moves on to the individual knockout rounds.

The women’s recurve team placed a notch higher than their male counterparts. Veteran Rachel Dela Cruz scored 618 to finish just inside the top 10. Kareel Meer Hongitan is not far behind in 12th place after hitting 612. 2014 Youth Olympian Bianca Gotauco had 599 to end up at 17th place. With their scores, Hongitan and Dela Cruz moves on the next round of the individual event. Combining the scores of Moreno and Dela Cruz for the mixed team event, the Philippines ended up in sixth place for the knockout rounds later today.

It was a better performance from the compound archers in this round. The men’s team of Jose Adriano, Earl Benjamin Yap, and 2014 individual bronze medallist Paul Marton Dela Cruz finished in second place with a total of 2065, seven points behind rivals Malaysia. Yap finished in the top three with a 696, which is actually tied in second. The veteran just missed the second-seed by virtue of inferior X’s (inner tens) to Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Cuong – 16 for Yap, 20 for Nguyen. Adriano amassed 689 to finish in 5th place, while P. Dela Cruz had 680 at 12th. Delfin Adriano ended in the top 15 with 678, but only the scores of the three best archers per country is counted. The powerful duo of J. Adriano and Yap will represent the country in the individual event on Friday.

The women’s compound team also finished second behind Malaysia after the team ranking rounds after getting 2018. Long-time internationalist Amaya Cojuangco finished with 682, which is tied for top seed, only to lose the tiebreaker based on lower number of 10’s. Fellow veterans Joann Tabanag and Jennifer Chan finished at the bottom of the top 10 (9th and 10th), earning an identical 668. Abbigail Tindugan, similar to D. Adriano, also finished 15th, collecting 661 points. Cojuangco and Tabanag starts their way to the gold, also on Friday. Furthermore, Cojuangco and J. Yap finished in second for the mixed event on that day.

Basketball: PH teams trounce foes in Day 2

The Philippine national basketball teams scored victories on Wednesday to help improve the teams’ respective campaigns for a podium finish, Wednesday, at the OCBC Arena Hall 1.

Perlas Pilipinas first destroyed a lowly Vietnam side, 100-55 to bounce back from a humbling loss against Thailand. The team scored a whopping 64 points in the second half and clamped on the defense to put away the opponents for good. Former FEU player Allana Lim took charge of the squad’s offense with 15 points. However, it is the performance of the team’s youngest and tallest player Clare Castro that spelled the difference. Castro had a field day down low with 13 points and seven rebounds.

On the other hand, the Gilas Pilipinas cadets trounced Indonesia, 81-52, behind a stirring run in the third quarter sparked by Kiefer Ravena. The Ateneo standout finished with 16 points for the Nationals. Jeth Roy Rosario chipped in a double-double performance with 15 markers and 11 rebounds.

Both teams take on Malaysia tomorrow at the same venue.

Billiards & Snooker: PH is overall champs in cue sports

At the end of the 2015 SEA Games billiards and snookers competition, the Philippine cue artists proved that we are still the masters of the table after a gold clinched that title for the delegation.

Team Philippines went into their last two events of the Games with optimism. However, the duo of veteran Reynald Grandea and rookie Jefrey Roda loss in their quarterfinals match in the men’s English Billiards doubles. The Filipinos lost all three matches to Indonesians Jaka Kurniawan and Marlando Sihombing, ending their hopes for a medal.

Veteran Dennis Orcollo then saved the day after securing the country’s third gold in cue sports. Down 0-3 at the start, the long-time SEA Games campaigner turned it around with excellent defensive shots that rattled Maung Maung of Myanmar. With the Burmese committing errors, Orcollo romped the next racks, taking 9 of the last 10, to put an exclamation point on the country’s sweep of 9-ball pool events.

With the delegation’s three mints on all events of 9-ball (men’s doubles, men’s singles, and women’s singles), the Philippines topped the medal tally for the discipline, above host country Singapore and Malaysia, which both collected two mints. Team PH also pocketed 1 silver and 5 bronzes for a total of 9 – also the most for any country.

Equestrian: Team PH riders end woeful campaign

The rebuilding Philippine equestrian team failed to make a mark on these Games as the individual jumping event signalled the curtain call of this year’s competitions at the Singapore Turf Racing Centre.

Chiara Amor, the lone jumper who qualified, finished at 13rd after the first round of the event with 20 jump penalties. The Filipina rider then went on to incur 24 jump penalties in the following round and ended in 10th place just above the two riders from Myanmar and Malaysia, who were eliminated.

The four equestriennes in dressage and jumping went home empty handed at the end of the biennial meet. However, two of them – Amor and Angelica Ayala (one from each discipline) – went on to the medal rounds.

Golf: RP Bowlers stay at third; tied with Malaysia

Starting the first round of the 28th SEA Games Golf tourney at third place, the Philippines still retained the spot, but found itself tied with Malaysia as they shared the deadlock with 222 points each after the second round.

The Pinoy Golfers’ second round performance saw Dan Emilio Cruz had 72 points while Weiwei Gao contributed 76. In addition, fellow golfers Aniceto Mandanas had 81 points while Ruperto Zaragoza had 74.

For the individual rankings, Cruz currently tops all Pinoys at third place. However, he shares his seat atop at third place with the likes of Galven Green from Malaysia, and Fadhli Soetarso, Kevin Akbar and Tirto Tamadri from Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the other Pinoy golfers are also faring well individually as Zaragoza is ranked 13th, Gao at 22nd, and Mandanas at 29th.

Bowling: Philippines falter again; fail to bounce back on Day 2

Taking to the lanes for the second day of 2015 SEAG Bowling Tournament, bowlers from the Philippines were more than eager to put their first day failures behind them as they gave their best efforts to come out triumphant for the Men’s and Women’s Doubles matches. Sadly, this was not the case as fate once again had different plan as they were once again left with no medals for the second time at the Orchard Country Club.

Women’s Doubles

In a change of pattern from the first day, female athletes were the first to take battle in the lanes. The change in pace, however, did little to change the Philippines’ luck in bowling as the harduck Filipino athletes competing in the Women’s Doubles fell in a similar fashion to their first day slip up.

While clearly still experiencing hiccups here and there, Philippines-3, consisting of Filipino bowlers Marie Alexis Sy and Maria Arles, proved to be the country’s best bowling duo as they ranked the 6th out of 17 teams, the highest so far this year in the bowling tournament, with a score of 2421, exactly 230 points less than the golden duo from Malaysia. While ranked the highest, the duo of Sy and Arles was not the only one as they were supported by the duo of Liza del Rosario and Liza Clutario completing the duo known as Philippines-1 and the duo of Krizziah Tabora and Lara Posadas completing Philippines-2 who sadly fell at a lower rank of 9 and 12 respectively.

Men’s Doubles

Echoing their finish from the first day, the Filipino bowlers competing in the Men’s Doubles fared no better than their female counterparts as they suffered a similar, yet slightly worse, fate of not taking home a single medal during the second day.

Philippines-2, consisting of Enrico Hernandez and Jo-Mar Jumapao, came out as the highest ranked duo after placing a dismal 17th place finish with total score of 2251, 441 points less than the the host country’s duo that placed first. Placing behind the duo of Hernandez and Jumapao, the duo of Jonas Baltasar and Kevin Cu, Philippines-1, finished 18th while the duo of Frederick Ong and Kenneth Chua ,Philippines-3, ended their match second to the last at the rank of 20.

The dismal finish of the Filipino bowlers in the Men’s Double effectively highlights the Philippines as the worse performing men’s team for the second day.

Gymnastics: PH artistic gymnasts end campaign in style

The artistic gymnasts of Team Philippines pocketed two more medals to wrap up their 2015 SEA Games campaign and ushered in their comeback as a competitive squad in the discipline.

After winning a gold medal the day before in men’s floor exercises, Reyland Capellan went on to attempt another podium finish, as he participated in the men’s vault Finals. While he was unable to get another gold, he was able to place third with a score of 14.616, enough for a bronze medal.

Elizabeth Leduc was able to qualify for the women’s beam Finals. She did not earn a podium finish, but she was able to score reasonably well to place fifth overall with 12.700 points. In the women’s floor exercise Finals, the Philippines had two representatives, Leduc and Ava Lorein Verdeflor. Leduc ended with a score of 12.566, placing eighth overall, and Verdeflor ended with 12.900 points for seventh overall.

Volleyball: Pinays struggle in first game; Pinoys successful in games debut

The Filipino volleyball revolution invaded Singapore last June 10 but to mixed results.

After a decade of absence from the SEA Games, the Philippine Women’s Volleyball Team re-entered the tournament with a resounding straight-set loss to a veteran Indonesia side, 25-22, 25-20, 25-14, at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games hosted by Singapore.

The Philippines will face Malaysia today. They will need to win their last two groups matches to solidly their bid in advancing to the next round.

After the Philippine Women’s Volleyball Team suffered a straight set loss to Indonesia in their opening game, all eyes were tuned in on the men’s team hoping to start their volleyball campaign on a high note. They were not disappointed, as the Philippine Men’s Volleyball Team trounced Malaysia in four sets, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19, at the South East Asian Games (SEA Games) hosted by Singapore.

The Philippines will attempt to continue their momentum when they go on to face Myanmar today at 5pm.

Petanque: Women bowlers take solitary win

After failing to record a win in the mixed doubles, Violeta De La Cruz went on to partner with Ara Joana Benito in the women’s doubles in the hopes of notching that first victory.

The pair’s first match came against Chindavone Sisavath and Siphachanh Keovongsoth of Laos. Unfortunately for the Pinays, they were unable to take the victory, 13-5. In their second match, they were pitted against Thi Thi Nguyen and Thu Huyen Tran Ngo of Vietnam. In this match they were unable to notch a single point, as they fell, 13-0.

Janice Qian Ni Tan and Boon Huay Heo from Singapore were their next opponents, and this time the match was very close. Unfortunately the Filipinas were unable to obtain the victory, 11-10. Following that match, the pair from the Philippines went against Phantipha Wongchuvej and Thongsri Thamakord from Thailand, notching just a single point in the match, 13-1.

The Philippines’ lone bright spot came in their match against Aye Aye Nyein and Yin Min Aye from Myanmar. The Pinays notched their first win in the tournament, 13-8. Their celebration was short-lived, however, as they lost to Sreymon Ouk and Leng Ke from Cambodia, 13-0.

Sailing: Mixed results as Team PH continues campaign

At the fifth day of the 2015 SEA Games, the Philippines failed to add to their first medal last Tuesday, but produced positive results, as action continues at the National Sailing Centre.

In the lone medal event of the day, the men’s windsurfing RSX, Yancy Kaibigan finished third in the medal race to collect 6 points. However, the result was not enough to propel the Filipino to a podium finish after 32 total points in the opening series race to end with 38.

In other events, the duo of Lester Troy Tayong and Emerson Villena placed in second after 8 opening races in the male 470 event, with 16 total and net points, which is just a single point off Singapore’s Darren Wong Loong Choy and Jeremiah Yeo. On the other hand, 12-year old Dazer Belanguer finished with 17 points after four opening races, which is good for fourth position.

Squash: Aribado spoils Malaysia-Singapore party; collars bronze

Rising squash player Jemyca Aribado ended the day for Team Philippines on a respectable note, collecting a bronze medal, as the singles events of the 2015 SEA Games closed at the Kallang Squash Centre.

Aribado, who barged into the semifinals after an upset over Singapore’s Nur Abdul Aziz, took on Malaysia’s V. R. Gnanasigamani in the top 4 match. In the end, the experience of the Gnanasigamani took over as she crushed Aribado in straight sets, 11-3 11-7 11-6. The young Filipina, however, gatecrashed an otherwise solid stranglehold of the two former British colonies, Malaysia and Singapore on the sport.

Being the lone Filipina squash player, her campaign in the Games also finished. It is not yet the end for the Philippines’ participation, however, as her compatriots Ricky Espinola, Robert Garcia, and David Pelino will still participate in men’s team and men’s jumbo doubles.

Tennis: Mixed results for Team PH netters

After collecting the team medals on Tuesday, the Philippine tennis team continued to work on their other events at the Kallang Tennis Centre, producing different results.

The pair of Kim Iglupas and Francis Alcantara won their first round match in mixed doubles against Amy Tun and Aung Naing of Myanmar, 6-1 6-2. Their campaign was then cut short by Thailand’s Plipuech Peangtarn and Ratiwatana Sonchat, losing in straight sets, 4-6 4-6. The defending champions of the said event, Denise Dy and Treat Huey, however, moved on to the quarterfinals after beating Burmese tandem of Yin Thuzar Lwin and Paing Soe Oo, 6-1 6-0, in the second round.

In men’s singles, Jeson Patrombon secured his place in the last 8 after defeating Muhammad Zainal Abidin of Malaysia in two sets of similar 6-1 scorelines. Veteran Reuben Gonzales Jr. was not as fortunate. Gonzales walloped Trinh Linh Giang, 6-2 6-3, in the first round, only to lose the in the following round against Wachiramanowong Kittiphong.

In the distaff side of the singles, both Katharina Lehnert and Anna Clarice Patrimonio advanced to the quarterfinals. Lehnert, on her part, won over hometown bet Stefanie Li Yun Tan in two contrasting sets, 6-0 7-5, in the second round. Meanwhile, Patrimonio dispatched Myanmar’s Nilar Win 6-1 6-3 in the last 8.

For the men’s doubles, the two Filipino pairs also barged in to the quarterfinals. The usual tandem of Alcantara and Huey disposed Singapore’s own Sherwin Shi Yun Foo and Muhammad Meqsud Alam, in two 6-2 sets. Patrombon and Gonzales partnered in a similar straight sets win in the first round and edged Nguyen Hoang and Phtam Minh Tuan of Vietnam, 7-6(3) 6-4.

Shooting: Acuna, Gutierrez outclassed by opponents in sole shooting event

In the lone shooting competition for the Filipinos in the SEA Games Shooting competition, Amparo Teresa Acuna and Inna Therese Gutierrez were outclassed by their opponents in women’s 50m rifle prone finals. Out of 12 competitors, Gutierrez was last with a compiled scored of 595.9 points while Acuna was eighth overall with 615.3 accumulated points.

Swimming: Late surge merits Team PH two bronze medals

In what seemed like a dry day for Team Philippines at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, UAAP standout Jessie Khing Lacuna and the relay team of Roxanne Ashley Yu, Imelda Corazon Wistey, Hannah Dato and Jasmine Alkhaldi salvaged two more bronze medals for the Philippines, increasing their total haul to nine bronze medals.

Lacuna, who was seeded second after the morning trials of the Men’s 200m Individual Medley, made use of a late surge in the final lap to try to secure the Philippines’ first silver medal in swimming. That, however, was not successful as Singapore’s Quah Zheng Wen was able to register a time of 2:02.22, a mere 0.02 seconds ahead of Lacuna’s 2:02.24. Quah’s teammate Joseph Isaac Schooling once again ruled the pool in record fashion as he erased his old record with his time of 2:00.66. Lacuna’s teammate Jose Joaquin Gonzalez (2:06.63) only managed to finish 6th.

The final event for the night was the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay where Team Philippines was poised to win a medal. True enough, the team of Yu, Wistey, Dato and Alkhaldi landed third but not without extreme difficulty. Alkhaldi, swimming as the anchor, had to slowly work her way from fifth rank to third to secure the Philippines’ ninth bronze medal in five days. Their time of 4:16.19 erases the old Philippine record in the event but was no match to Singapore’s SEA Games record-setting time of 4:08.72. Thailand would touch next after clocking 4:12.80.

With one day left in SEA Games Swimming, Team Philippines tries to capture the elusive gold as most of the 12-man team will be competing. Below is the complete list of swimmers who saw action in Day 4 of the competition:

Women’s 50m Breaststroke
7th Imelda Corazon Wistey 33.99
9th Raissa Regatta Gavino 34.30

Women’s 400m Freestyle
10th Rosalee Mira Sta. Ana 4:33.19

Men’s 200m Individual Medley
3rd Jessie Khing Lacuna 2:02.24
6th Jose Joaquin Gonzalez 2:06.63

Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay
3rd Roxanne Ashley Yu (1:05.32) 4:16.19*
Imelda Corazon Wistey (1:14.36)
Hannah Dato (1:01.28)
Jasmine Alkhaldi (0:55.23)

*Philippine National Record

Philippines go up to sixth in the medal rankings!