Mission accomplished for Team Pilipinas.
The 840-strong contingent of the Philippines was given a mission to surpass the 52-gold tally of the team in Hanoi last year.
And they were able to do so, tallying 58 golds with 86 silvers and 116 bronzes for a fifth-place finish.
Vietnam (136-105-114) was the overall champion for the second straight year.
Following suit were Thailand (108-96-108), Indonesia (87-80-109), and host Cambodia (81-74-127).
Leading the haul for the Philippines was none other than Caloy Yulo while two national sports associations in the Philippine Taekwondo Association and the Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation were sensational.
Yulo Gets Some Help From Friends
(C) POC-PSC Media Group
For the second straight Southeast Asian Games, Caloy Yulo is once again the most bemedalled athlete for Team Pilipinas.
Though his output in Phnom Penh (2 golds and 2 silvers) was significantly down from Hanoi (5 golds and 2 silvers), it was beyond his control.
Cambodia only allowed a gymnast to compete in a maximum of three individual apparatus finals out of five.
Yulo still came out on top with gold in all-around and parallel bars.
His two silvers came in the still rings and artistic team.
His good pals John Ivan Cruz and Juancho Besana also stepped up, taking gold in the floor and vault exercises, respectively, to finish an overall second in the event.
Philippine Martial Arts Deliver
Despite the lofty standards put on them, the Philippine Taekwondo Association was still able to exceed them, delivering six golds, a silver, and eight bronzes to tie the Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation as the top two gold-getters in this Games.
Patrick Perez and the women’s team of Jocel Ninobla, Nicole Labayne, and Aidaine Laxa set the tone for the haul.
Olympian Kurt Barbosa was once again the runaway winner in the finweight division. Ditto for middleweight Samuel Morrison.
Scoring surprise golds were featherweight Arven Alcantara and another Olympian in middleweight Kirstie Alora.
Not to be outdone were the arnis strikers, who had a haul of six golds, two silvers, and four bronzes.
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In the return of the sport after four years, bantamweight Charlotte Tolentino, lightweight Jedah Soriano, bantamweight Ella Alcoseba, and Dexler Bolambao took gold in the full contact passed stick while Trixie Lofranco and Crisamuel Delfin took down the individual anyo events.
Taekwondo finished second overall in the sport while arnis were the overall champion.
The Wrestling Association of the Philippines also bounced back big time after a gold-less campaign in Hanoi, taking four out of the possible 30 golds in the sport.
(C) Efrelyn Calitis
Jason Balabal took the 82kg Greco-Roman event while Alvin Lobreguito (57kg), Ronil Tubog (61kg), and Tina Vergara (65kg) rule their respective divisions in freestyle.
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The grieving Alliances of Boxing Association of the Philippines also bagged four golds with bantamweight Carlo Paalam, featherweights Ian Clark Bautista and Nesthy Petecio, and lighweight Paul Bascon taking their divisions.
Five other pugilists had a chance to strike gold but lost in the gold medal match.
Finally, the Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas and the Jiu-Jitsu Federation of the Philippines also delivered three each.
Yes, Philippine martial arts is alive, punching, and kicking.
Obstacle and Endurance Race Teams Persevere
(C) Philippine Obstacle Sports Federation
Two NSAs also carried the torch for the speed events in the Triathlon Association of the Philippines and the Pilipinas Obstacle Sports Federation.
The OCR team notched went a perfect four-of-four in the sport with Mark Rodelas and Precious Satarain taking gold in the individual event while both the relay squads took down both team events.
Meanwhile, despite the roster fielded by the hosts, the endurance race team still managed to gift the country with three golds.
Photo from PSC
The mixed relay team of Matthew Hermosa, Kira Ellis, Eric Burgos, and Inaki Lorbes topped the aquathlon event, Kim Mangrobang won the duathlon event, while Fer Casares ruled the men’s triathlon race.
Supposed-to-be marquee squads athletics and swimming continued to struggle in their respective medal-rich tournaments.
After taking five golds last year, Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association only got four this year.
(C) PSC-POC Media Group
EJ Obiena retained his pole vault throne in record-breaking fashion with a 5.65 while Janry Ubas crushed the long jump event with an 8.08.
Eric Cray won his sixth straight 400m gold while the team of Michael del Prado, Frederick Ramirez, Joyme Sequita, and Umajesty Williams escaped the 4×400 on top.
Swimming, meanwhile, produced two golds after just one last year.
Teia Salvino won gold in women’s 100 meters and Xiandi Chua in the 200 meters backstroke.
The two also set new national and SEA Games records, with Chua clocking two minutes and 13.20 seconds and Salvino clocking 1:01.64 minutes.
The Gold That Matters Most
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In the team events, there were two squads that were under a microscope — men’s basketball and women’s football, both World Cup-bound squads.
The Filipinas had a gallant campaign despite not making it to the semifinals.
A costly — and controversial — late penalty awarded to Myanmar cost the Filipinas on opening day. But they made sure to leave a mark, beating eventual-champion Vietnam, 2-1, in a battle of two of the top teams in the region.
Meanwhile, Gilas Men faced insurmountable odds after falling to Cambodia, 79-68, in the worst loss absorbed by a Philippine team in the regional meet.
Chot Reyes’ men though went on another gear in the medal rounds.
Behind the heroics of one Justin Brownlee, Gilas dethroned Indonesia with an 84-76 win in the semis before taking a vengeful 80-69 win over the host to complete their redemption campaign.
“The important thing is we surpassed the medal haul last SEA Games and we have reclaimed basketball supremacy in the region,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Bambol Tolentino.
