Philippines Concludes 31st SEA Games at Fourth Place

BEN NIVERA

Filipino athletes brought home 52 gold, 70 silver, and 104 gold medals after showing exemplary performances in the 31st SEA Games held in Hanoi, Vietnam from May 12 to May 23.

Sadly, the Philippines wasn’t able to defend the crown as Vietnam swept the competition with 205 gold, 125 silver, and 116 bronze medals. Thailand placed second with 92 golds, 103 silver, and 136 bronze medals. Following Thailand, Indonesia ended up in third place after winning 69 gold, 91 silver, and 81 bronze medals.

Gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo showed outstanding performances as he defended his SEA games title and took home five gold and two silver medals.

“If it’s up to me, I wanted to win all the medals in all the events,” the 22-year-old said.

Another member of the Philippine Gymnastics Team, Aleah Finnegan, who was a former United States national gymnast, nabbed two gold and two silver medals.

Meanwhile, the Kurash team bagged one gold medal, three silver, and five bronze medals after amazing performances from their athletes.

Weightlifting queen Hidilyn Diaz asserted her dominance after demolishing her enemies in the Women’s Weightlifting 55 kilogram event. She defeated her rival, Thailand’s Sanikun Tanasan, who settled for silver after lifting 203 kg in total, 3 kg less than Diaz.

Billiards sports legend Efren “Bata” Reyes only managed to win a bronze medal in the Billiards Sports - Men's 1-Cushion Carom Singles.

However, the Billiards team managed to bag four gold medals with the other worldly performances by Rubilen Amit (Billiards - Women’s 9-Ball Pool Singles) , Johann Chua (Billiards - Men's 9-ball Pool Singles), and Carlo Biado (Billiards - Men's 10-ball Pool Singles). The team also won four silver and three bronze medals. The Dancesport team managed to grab 12 medals with the astonishing performances brought by Sean Mischa Aranar and Ana Leonila Nualla, who brought home three gold medals; Mark Jayson Gayon and Mary Joy Renigen, who nabbed one gold and two silver medals; Wilbert Aunzo and Pearl Maria Caneda, who won one silver and two bronze medals; and Michael Angelo Marquez and Stephanie Sabalo, who managed to grab one gold and two silver medals.

Gilas Women managed to grab a gold after trailblazing their way into the Women’s 5x5 event. Meanwhile, Gilas Men won one silver and one bronze medal after winning in the Men’s 5x5 event and Men’s 3x3 event respectively.

The Women’s Football team made history after finally grabbing a bronze medal in the Women’s Football event, the first time in 37 years. The team managed to beat Myanmar in a 2-1 battle for the bronze medal.

In the Esports field, Blacklist SIBOL Esports National Squad dominated the Mobile Legends competition and managed to nab a gold medal with amazing performances delivered by each player. The Women’s team for League of Legends - Wild Rift also managed to grab a gold medal, while the men’s team managed to finish with a silver medal. The crossfire team also finished with a silver medal.

All medalists will be rewarded with cash incentives coming from the government. Under Republic Act 10699, each gold medal is equal to P300,000 while a silver medalist in the SEA Games will fetch P150,000 and a bronze medal P60,000.

Team Philippines’ chef de mission Ramon Fernandez represented the Philippines for the closing rites of the 31st Southeast Asian Games at My Dinh National Stadium.

“This was an enlightening and educational experience for yours truly. We fought as one and won as one! Mabuhay ang atletang Pilipino!" Fernandez said. [R]