BRAVE AND PROUD
Team PH beams with pride after two-week quest in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia— Exhausted to the point of almost running out of gas, our battle-scarred Filipino athletes will go home beaming with pride as the two-week 32nd Southeast Asian Games nears to a close in this capital city Tuesday, May 16.
Heading into the final day with more final competitions left, Team Philippines is poised to surpass its previous overall finish in Vietnam last year after racking up 57 gold, 81 silver and 112 bronze medals.
In Hanoi, the Filipinos wound up with 52 golds, 70 silvers and 105 bronzes.
It was already a big feat as far as Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Bambol Tolentino is concerned, given that the country only sent around 900 athletes compared to powerhouse Vietnam and Thailand, which fielded more than twice as many as the PH delegation. Olympians carried the fight for Team Philippines in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in this capital city. Boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, who won silvers in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, spearheaded that elite group after dominating the men’s
54kg and women’s 57, respectively.
Fellow Tokyo Olympians EJ Obiena (pole vault), two-time world champion Carlos
Yulo (artistic gymnastics), Elreen Ando (weightlifting), and Kurt Barbosa (taekwondo) also lived up to their billing in dominating their field.
Hurdler Eric Cray, who saw action in the 2016 Rio Games, also captured an unprecedented sixth SEAG gold medal in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. “In total, it is still a strong performance for Team Philippines. All the athletes are improving. The medal haul will speak for itself,” Tolentino said.
The battle is not yet over, though. Some athletes are still fighting their way to the gold medal as of press time that include the Gilas Pilipinas, which is clashing with heavy favorite Cambodia to reclaim lost glory in 5-on-5 basketball.
The women’s cricket team is also out to make an impact and currently collides with Thailand for the top honors in the T10 event.
Even the little-known floorball squad is going up against Thailand for the gold medal after sweeping all their four pool assignments.
Not to be outdone, there are also two weightlifters and four kickboxers fighting for the top podium in separate venues, as well as athletes from arnis, wrestling, jetski and dancesport.
Tolentino said this edition’s biennial meet produced a lot of surprised performances, noting the three-gold medal haul of soft tennis and the six-gold romp of taekwondo.
The PH team’s overall performance seemed like a good indication for the athletes’ next big battle: the 19th Asian Games in September in Hangzhou, China.
Tolentino said they would use this biennial meet as a springboard to improve the country’s previous haul in the 2018 Jakarta/Palembang edition, where it bagged four gold, two silver and 15 bronzes.