Solid fifth with 58 golds

PHNOM PENH – Seven gold medals for the road.

Led by the super efforts of aces in the country’s own martial art and in the sport closest to Filipinos’ hearts, Team Philippines collared a closing seven golds in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games yesterday.

In the process, the 840-strong delegation surpassed the previous showing of 52 mints by six with a handful of events still being played at presstime.

Arnisadors Trixie Lofranco and Crisamuel Delfin outclassed their respective rivals in the individual anyo non-traditional open weapon categories to add two more triumphs to the cause as freestyle bets Alvin Lobreguito (men’s 57kg) and Ronil Tubog (men’s 61kg) turned in a dominant show to contribute another pair in wrestling.

The Gilas Pilipinas “Redeem Team” lived up to its name and reclaimed the lost gold in men’s basketball via an 80-69 clincher over its foreign-flavored Cambodian opponents.

In the adjacent hall, kickboxers Gretchel de Paz (women’s -56kg low kick) and Claudine Velosa (women’s -52kg) delivered late golds.

With 58 golds, 81 silvers and 112 bronzes as of 8 p.m., the Pinoy athletes backed by the PSC and POC already eclipsed their 52-70-112 output in the last SEAG in Hanoi last year.

Team Philippines nosed out Singapore (50-42-62) for a Top 5 finish behind Vietnam (135-104-111), Thailand (107-91-104), Indonesia (83-79-104) and host Cambodia (76-71-126).

Lobreguito started the assault at the golds in the last day of hostilities by beating rivals Khac Huy Pung of Vietnam and Nattawut Kaewchuangchum in round-robin play to finish with a winning 25 points.

It was a breakthrough for the 31-year-old wrestler, who was good for only silver in 2019 and 2022 and bronze in 2011.

“Sa wakas naka-gold na rin!” he exclaimed after hitting paydirt 13 years after joining the national team. “Mahirap ang naging training namin kaya kundisyon ako sa laban na ito.”

Tubog joined Lobreguito in the honor roll as he defeated Indonesia’s Zainal Abidin in the finale, 3-1.

The most lustrous gold came on the taraflex-covered hard-court of the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2 where Gilas ended 11 agonizing months of plotting its redemption after an unceremonious fall in Hanoi on May 22 last year.

“I came here, I envisioned this. I visualized it,” said coach Chot Reyes, the only remnant of the group that lost the gold last year.

“But I didn’t make it happen. It was the players who made it happen with their effort and their unwillingness to give up,” he added.

Gilas men’s return-to-the-top offset the failed three-peat bid of the women’s team, which settled for the silver this time, and the twin second-place finishes of the 3x3 side earlier.