Team PHL makes six-gold haul but languishes at seventh in overall medal race

NAY PYI TAW – The 27th Southeast Asian Games installed a new queen in a 16-year-old student, and a 23-year-old from Misamis Occidental ended the reign of long-time champion Rene Herrera in a couple of inspiring triumphs highlighting the Philippine contingent’s modest surge in medal performance in one of the busiest days of the 11-nation biennial competition.

Princess Superal of team ICTSI and her squad, left out of the Philippine roster because of their poor showing in this year’s Putra Cup, stood their ground against Myanmar to capture the gold medal in both the individual and team events of the golf competitions.

On the track oval of the Wunnum Theikdi Sports Complex, Christopher Ulboc made one last push in the last 400 meters to beat the opposition and Herrera, the SEAG champion since 2005.

At the nearby taekwondo gym the men’s team of Vidal Martin Gabriel and siblings Raphael and Djustin Mella took the gold, and Gabriel completed the men’s haul with a silver finish in the men’s individual poomsae event.

By late afternoon, Dennis Orcollo and Carlo Biado, making up for huge losses in the men’s and women’s 9-ball, advanced to the 10-ball finals in an all-Filipino duel won by Orcollo, 9-7.

Decathlete Jason Ramil Cid won the gold with 7,038 points, which broke the mark of 6,963 by Fidel Gallenero in 2003 in the Vietnam SEA Games.

Van Day took the bronze with 6383.

The six golds raised the Philippines gold-silver-bronze medal finish to 20-24-28 as it inched closer to Singapore (23-22-31). Thailand remained up front with 73-66-62, Vietnam second with 54-52-62, Myanmar third with 53-45-49, Indonesia fourth with 50-60-71 and Malaysia fifth with 30-30-55.

Women’s long jumper Katherine Kay Santos, taking over from compatriot Maristella Torres, the SEAG 2009 and 2011gold medalist who is pregnant with her first baby, was fourth. Rosie Villarito was also fourth in the women’s javelin throw.

Nancy Quillotes settled for the silver in the -45 kg of judo at the Zayar Indoor gym while the national cyclists earned the bronze in the men’s road race.