GIRL power reared its lovely head yesterday, enabling Team Philippines to come up with a comparatively modest — but still ample — haul in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Cyclist Jermyn Prado, judoja Kiyomi Watanabe, fencer Jylyn Nicanor and skateboarder Margielyn Didal hogged the limelight for the most part Thursday before their male counterparts took the cue and delivered in other fronts.

Fil-German skateboarder Daniel Ledermann, judoka Pablo Shugen Nakano and crossover martial artists Mark Striegl and Chino Sy struck in sambo to bring the country’s gold harvest for the day to seven.

It was the host team’s lowest win-output for a day yet but proved enough to jack their overall total to 63 golds and keep them in their lofty perch in the overall standings.

Since Day 1 of the competitions, the rest of the 11-country field continued to be mere pursuers with the closest ones engaged in fierce jockeying for positions behind the Philippines.

Vietnam managed just four for the day, two from swimming, but remained at second-running spot with 31. The 2003 overall champion was being heavily threatened by 10-time topnotcher Indonesia, which churned out the day’s best of 10 golds to jack its total to 27.

Singapore moved within a gold away from Indonesia after an eight-gold surge anchored on four from the pool.

After winning only two golds for the day, Malaysia dropped from third to fifth with 23, seven ahead of Thailand despite the latter’s five wins for the day.

Prado was the first to give inspiration to Team PH by winning the individual time trial race.

The Pagbilao, Quezon native took the gold after completing the 23.1-kilometer course in 44 minutes, 44.742 seconds, close to four seconds better than silver winner Yuo Liwei of Singapore.

Prado’s was the third gold from cycling following the mountain bike victories by John Derick Farr and Lea Denise Belgira last Monday.

Later in the afternoon, Didal and Daniel Ledermann secured the first two of the total eight gold medals in skateboarding by topping the Game of S.K.A.T.E.

Didal beat compatriot Christiana Means through an ollie body/varial trick which the latter could not duplicate, highlighting their golden matchup that was assured when they both breezed through the early rounds Wednesday.

Ledermann had a harder time but still edged Indonesia’s Basral Hutomo in a heated showdown after recovering from the 12-year-old wunderkind’s difficult tricks early on.

Nicanor snapped the country’s dry spell in fencing by coming from behind and topping the individual sabre. The 27-year-old was quicker on the crucial hit as she completed her fightback from 5-8 down in the final round to outlast Indonesian foe Diah Permatasari 15-14 in the final. The match was so close the final two points were reviewed, with the referee ruling in favor of the Filipina.

And there was Watanabe, who beat Nik Norbaizura Nik Azman of Malaysia by ippon in the final for her fourth straight victory in the minus 63kg class, underscoring her dominance in the region and boosting her bid to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Currently ranked No. 23 in the world in her weight class, the 19-year-old Watanabe aims to stay inside the top 26 to clinch a berth in the Tokyo Games.

Welcome news also came from the new event of sambo, a Russian invention combining the best of the martial arts.

Striegl, a mixed martial arts champion, bulldozed his way to the 74kg class title of combat sambo while Sy, a former UAAP juniors Most Valuable Player in judo, claimed the other gold after topping the minus 82 kg class.

Shugen would not be outdone, pulling off a last-ditch ippon over Indonesia’s Budi Prasetiyo in the 66kg final to secure the gold. Before the match-winner, the Indonesian went up by half-a-point afer dragging Shugen to the mat.

GYMNAST Carlos Yulo’s bid for a special niche in Team Philippines’ 30th Southeast Asian Games campaign was denied yesterday as he settled for silver medals in his final three events.

But there were others all too willing to pick up where he tapered off, enabling the Philippines to stay on top of the overall leaderboard and fend off the threat posed by their closest pursuers in the overall race.

Foremost among those who shone brightest for Team PH is a record-breaking swimmer who ended the country’s decade-long drought in the pool and a female navy officer nobody in the criminal underworld would want to mess with due to her uncanny shooting abilities.

Also helping Team PH to a nine-gold harvest for the day were some racers who overcame various obstacles in their way, a lady lifter who atoned for a teammate’s loss just the day before and a pair displaying more than ample knowledge of traditional rituals of muay.

With 56 gold medals so far, the Filipinos stayed well ahead of their closest pursuers who all tried but still could only gain little inroads from the imposing lead the host team established right on the first day of formal competitions.

Singapore actually surpassed the host team’s gold haul for the day with 10, anchored on four from swimming and two each from ice skating and underwater hockey.

But their combined efforts and those of their other teammates could just lift Singapore to an 18-gold total, although those were enough to boost the Lion City bets a rung higher to fifth.

Vietnam remained as Team PH closest pursuer with 27 mints after twinkills in swimming and gymnastics, with Malaysia coming next with 21 following two victories in gymnastics and one in lawn bowls.

Indonesia dropped to sixth on a 17-gold total despite five wins for the day—two in bowling and one each in gymnastics, weightlifting and pencak silat.

Already the men’s all-around and floor exercise winner, Yulo was bidding to become the top individual gold producer for the country but could only land three silvers in the vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar at the end of his campaign.

There was indeed disappointment, but not much for the 19-year-old bundle of power and skills as he wound up with two gold and five silver medals in his very first Games stint.
Besides, Yulo’s teammates from other fronts were there to more than give him consolation but brighten the hosts’ spirits even more.

One was James Deiparine, who topped the 100m breaststroke to give the country its first gold in swimming sport since 2009. With his gold-winning 1:01.46 performance, the 26-year-old also broke the 10-year-old meet record set in the Laos edition.

There was also Marly Martir, a Philippine Navy officer, who ruled the women’s WA 1500 Precision Pistol Course, an event spawned by practical shooting among police officers. The 43-year-old hit the X ring 60 times for a score of 1450, five more than the total of silver winner Pratiwi Kartikasari of Indonesia.

She later scored 582 that went with Franchette Quiroz’s 575 and Elvie Baldivino’s 571 to also win gold in the team category with a combined score of 4320, 10 more than the Indonesian squad.

Putting the Filipinos on the right track for the day was its Obstacle Course Racers led by the team of Kyle Antolin, Kaizen dela Serna, Monolito Divina and Deanna Moncada, which conquered the 12-obstacle mixed assist race in 3:48.35..

Diana Buhler, Jeffrey Reginio, Klymille Kim Rodriguez and Nathaniel Sanchez topped the team relay in 1:59.56, followed by Rochelle Suarez (46.70) and Milky Mae Tejares (47.88), completing a 1-2 finish in the 100m x 10 obstacles and Kevin Jeffrey Pascua winning the men’s side of the event.

Later in the afternoon, partners Jaerome Calica and Joemar Gallaza showed both poise and aggression in their combined routine demonstrating the traditional pre-fight ritual en route to a 9.95 from the judges in the wai kru mai muay event.

Lifter Kristel Macrohon also did her part, topping the 71kg division for weightlifting’s second gold following Hidilyn Diaz’s victory in the 55kg category last Monday.

The 23-year-old, like Diaz hailing from Zamboanga, cleared 93kgs in the snatch and 123kgs in the clean and jerk to beat Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi, who could not hoist 125 on her third and final attempt in the clean and jerk to settle for a 214 total and the silver.

AN ALLURING enchantress gracefully brandishing a sword provided the much-needed spark for another golden surge Tuesday as Team Philippines kept its lofty place on top of the 30th SEA Games leaderboard.

While the effects of Typhoon Tisoy forced organizers to alter some schedules and postpone some matches, the hosts continued to turn on the heat for the rest of the 11-country field by winning nine gold medals for the day and improving to 47 overall.

World champion gymnast Carlos Yulo won his favorite floor exercise event and a couple of stick-wielding Filipino warriors completed their domination of a sport indigenous to the country to give Team Philippines more headroom with still seven days of competition left.
Each one of those wins sure came handy.

Vietnam left little doubt about its intent to push the Philippines to the limit by winning eight, including three from wushu and a veritable freebie from the Filipinos in weightlifting, that kept it at second spot with a 23-gold total.

Malaysia scooped up seven for the day to jack its total to 17 and traditional powerhouse Indonesia also started making its own move by copping five for 12, followed by Thailand and Singapore with eight mints apiece.

But the Philippines remained out of reach, at least going to Wednesday’s events where a total 53 golds are at stake, including the first seven in swimming.

A huge chunk of the credit should go to comely Agatha Wong, who started the day right for the hosts by topping the taijijian event of wushu for her second gold in the Games following her victory last Sunday in taijiquan.

Wong got 9.65 points from the judges to edge out Vietnam’s Thi Minh Huyen Tran (9.63) for the victory and finally win the one gold that eluded her two years ago in Malaysia.
Wong’s fellow martial artists were quick to follow her lead.

Competing in the 48kg division, Divine Wally kickstarted a five-gold deluge in sanda (sparring) by dominating Vietnam’s Thi Chinh Nguyen.

The men then took over as Jessie Aligaga (48 kgs), Arnel Mandal (52 kgs), Francisco Solis (56 kgs) and Clemente Tabugara Jr. (65 kgs) also notched victories, salving the loss of Gideon Fred Padua in the 60kg category.

Those wins brought to seven wushu’s total gold haul, giving Team Philippines the championship in the sport.

It did not take long for arnis to overshadow that distinction and occupy a special niche in Team Philippines’ campaign later in the day as Crisamuel Delfin and Mary Allin Aldeguer topped their respective divisions in the anyo non-traditional open weapon.

Those victories brought arnis’ contribution to the country’s cause to 14 golds out of the 20 up for grabs in the sport. The haul was six more the Filipinos harvested when the sport was first included in the biennial meet calendar in 2005.

“We couldn’t have asked for any more from the boys and girls. They exceeded our expectations. I told them we’ll be happy with 12 golds but they gave us 14. I’m just happy.

This is for the country,” said Philippine Eskrima Arnis Kali Federation chairman and president Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Already the winner of the all-around title, Yulo added the floor exercise gold to his trophy case but saw his bid for a sweep of all seven golds staked in men’s artistic gymnastics vanish when he could only land the silver in both the pommel horse and still rings later in the evening.

Of the 10 near-misses Team Philippines had for the day, the sorriest one belonged to weightlifter Elreen Ando, her bid for a first Games gold and a second one in the sport following Hidilyn Diaz’s victory in the 55kg category last Monday foiled by confusion.

Vietnam’s Pham Thi Hong Thanh was supposed to go first and took one minute in the supposedly two-minute rest in-between lifts. For one reason or another, the order of performance was abruptly changed and Ando had to take the Vietnamese’s turn.

That left Ando the remaining minute of what was left from Thanh. She was still meauring her grip on the bar when the buzzer sounded, indicating her time was up.

Ando was trying to clear 120 kilograms on her third and final attempt in the clean and jerk, which could have easily given her the win. The 24-year-old was reduced to tears as Thanh ultimately stole the gold with a 124 effort in the clean and jerk and totaled 214.

Ando, who had 98 kgs in the snatch, got credited with a mere 115 kgs hit right on her second lift in the clean and jerk and had to settle for the silver with 213.

Diaz, who was in the spectators’ stands avidly cheering for Ando, also became emotional and had to be comforted by her companions.

SOTTO WEIGHS IN

Senate President Vicente Sotto III yesterday said he was satisfied with the overall preparations for the 30th Southeast Asian Games but added an accounting of expenses should be done after the games to determine if every single centavo was well spent.

“I’m satisfied even with the preparations, everything was in order, everything was thought of… Siguro (maybe) there would be an accounting. Let me call it that. Perhaps there should be an accounting of the expenses,” Sotto said.

Several missteps reported before the games started were attributed by some congressmen to the Senate causing delay in the release of the SEA games budget.

The Senate leadership has repeatedly denied that the senators were to blame for the delay in the release of the P6 billion budget, saying the House of Representatives should be blamed as the latter transmitted the General Appropriations Bill for the 2019 proposed budget only on November 24, 2018.

Despite the few failures and bickering, Sotto said he was still content with the preparations.

“Even if we were blamed for the delay in the release in the SEA Games budget, still, the preparations were enough for the country to be happy about results. They are honored to be Filipinos… So, let’s keep praying, let’s keep on supporting our athletes because they carried the flag of the Philippines,” he said.

Aside from the Commission on Audit, Sotto said the Senate committee on finance or the House committee on appropriations can look at the expenses incurred for the games.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, who chairs the Philippines SEA Games Organizing Committee, had said he is ready to face any investigation on the alleged corruption in the preparation and actual execution of the games that will end on Dec. 11.

“(On) Dec. 12, hold me accountable, hold the SEAG organizing committee accountable. I will not hide. I will face the Senate and the ombudsman,” Cayetano had said. — With Raymond Africa

UNFAZED by the threat posed by a weather disturbance that could swamp major venues and the grit displayed by some of their opponents, Filipino athletes added 17 more gold medals to their tally Monday and threatened to pull away in just two days of action in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

The indigenous sport of arnis proved to be the lynchpin in Team Philippines’ sustained golden charge by delivering seven gold medals while basketball, mountain bike, duathlon, pencak silat, weightlifting and the mixed triathlon squad chipped in for that much-needed boost.

As of 8 o’clock on Monday night, the Filipinos had jacked their Games-leading total to 38 gold medals on top of 20 silver and 13 bronze medals they could use as buffer should Typhoon Tisoy cause destruction and the surges being made by 2003 top nation Vietnam and Malaysia, which copped its second overall crown two years ago on home grounds.

Rains brought about by Tisoy are expected to affect some playing venues in Luzon, including Metro Manila, today and tomorrow, leaving a big question mark on how organizers could implement their oft-stated contingency plans should any worst-case scenario materializes.

About 15 outdoor events in separate venues scattered all over Metro Manila, Laguna, Pampanga and Tarlac are expected to be affected by Tisoy.

As organizers await Tisoy, some form of excitement is being posed from elsewhere.

Vietnam scored victories in seven kurash events and added three from arnis to improve its total to 15 mints while Malaysia jacked its total to 10 golds after copping three mints in lawn bowls and one each from netball and gymnastics.

Traditional sporting giants Indonesia and Thailand also stirred to life with a six-gold total each while Singapore suffered a gold drought for the day after opening with three on Sunday and remained at sixth overall.

A total of 45 gold medals will be disputed on Day 3 of action on Tuesday, weather permitting.

Elmer Manlapaz, Jesfer Huquire, Abegail Abad, Carloyd Tejada, Sheena del Monte, Ashley Ross Moville and Jedah Mae Soriano delivered the gold medals for the arnis warriors at the Angeles University Foundation.

In all, the country’s arnis warriors have accounted for 12 of Team Philippines’ victories, edging out dancesports (10) as the top gold medal producer.

The country’s 3×3 basketball teams did not disappoint in the sport closest to the Filipinos’ heart, with the men’s team of Jason Perkins, Chris Newsome, Mo Tautuaa and CJ Perez completing a clean sweep of the tournament capped by a 21-9 whipping of Indonesia in the finals.

Afril Bernadino, Jack Danielle Animam, Janine Pontejos, and Clare Castro of the women’s squad got back at lone eliminations tormentor Thailand with a 17-13 victory in the gold medal match.

In cycling, John Farr and Denise Belgira ruled their respective mountain bike events, with Monica Torres following suit with a victory in duathlon.

Pencak silat continued its run of surprises for Team PH with a gold courtesy of Edmar Tacuel in seni tunggal singles.

Triathlon contributed its third gold in the medal haul as Kim Mangrobang and Claire Adorna teamed up with Fernando Casares and John Chicano to rule the mixed team relay. It was the second gold for both Mangrobang and Chicano, who ruled the men and women’s triathlon on Sunday.

Rodel Labayo and Angelo Morales also teamed up for the pairs gold in lawn bowls.
Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz became the latest among the list of Filipino gold hopefuls who lived up to expectations by finally bagging her first SEA Games gold.

The reigning Asian Games champion lifted 91 kilograms in the snatch and 120 in the clean and jerk for a total of 211, surpassing her performance in the Indonesia Asiad last year where she had a 207 total.

There were other welcome news elsewhere, particularly in wushu.

Jessie Aligaga, competing in the 48kg division, Arnel Mandal (52 kgs), Francisco Solis (56kgs), Gideon Fred Padua (60kgs), Clemente Tabugara Jr. (65kgs) and lone female survivor Divine Wally (48kgs) all won their semifinals matches and advanced to today’s all-finals where taijiquan winner Agatha Wong also sees action in the taijijian event.

“All out na ito para sa bayan,” said Solis, who fashioned the most impressive victory in the tournament so far, needing just 11 seconds to dispose of Malaysian Kai Wen Teng with a side throw.

DUTERTE SPEAKS UP

President Duterte said the preparations for the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games were “not good” following several “mishaps” that could have easily been avoided if the billions of pesos worth of budget for the event had been properly used for preparations and in anticipation of any problem that may arise.

During a taped interview by Unang Hirit that was aired yesterday, Duterte said he was “not attributing to anybody” the shortcomings in the logistics and other problems that have arise during the SEA Games but felt they could have been avoided or addressed immediately if the preparations, along with the spending of the budget, was done correctly.

“It’s a huge fund (P6 billion) and there ought not to have problems,” Duterte said, citing problems like the delayed buses, wrong accommodations and late check-ins, the type of food that were served to the athletes and the unfinished venues, among others.

He added there was ample time to do the preparations and ensure that every scenario is covered in case of problems.

“If you would ponder on it, it’s actually negligence or unforeseen events that you failed to prepare,” he said.

The President said investigation about the controversies hounding the SEA Games’ hosting should be held after the event ends.

Malacañang had said there would be no sacred cows in the probe that would include everybody, including Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, the head of the Philippines Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and concurrent presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo yesterday said Malacanang was pleased that the hard work and training of the Filipino athletes were paying off.

“The Palace is closely monitoring the performance of our athletes in the 30th South East Asian Games…

“We congratulate our athletes who have won and brought honor to the country in this ongoing biennial multi-sport event…We wish the rest of our athletes who will be competing on the coming days the best of luck,” he added.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III took a swipe at the critics of the games that formally opened last Saturday.

In a Viber message to reporters, Sotto said the people who have been critical of the SEA Games have one thing in common — they have not represented the country in any sporting event.

“Did you notice that the people who are critical of the SEA Games were those who have never represented the country in sports? Was there any incident that they have represented the Philippines in any sporting event abroad?” Sotto said. — With Jocelyn Montemayor and Raymond Africa

AFTER coming up with an opening ceremony to remember, the Philippines plunged into serious action in the 30th Southeast Asian Games on Sunday and bagged 20 gold medals to set in motion its bid to reclaim the title as the region’s sporting giant.

Triathletes John Chicano and Kim Mangrobang swept the first two gold medals disputed for the day in Subic, opening the floodgates for the Filipino surge highlighted by winning 10 of the first 11 events disputed in dancesports at the Royce Hotel Ballroom in Pampanga.

As of 8:30 p.m. Monday, Filipino athletes show the way in the medal quest, with former overall champion Vietnam a far second with only four gold medals, followed by Singapore and traditional powerhouses Thailand and Malaysia.

Filipino arnis warriors made a grand return to the games after the sport’s absence for 14 years by winning the first four events at the Angeles University Foundation in Angeles while sepak takraw also had a twin kill.

Wushu and gymnastics also delivered through Agatha Wong and world floor exercise champion Carlos Yulo, giving Team Philippines the lion’s share of the gold medals staked on the first day of action, more than easing the pain of some losses.

With its early haul, Team Philippines looked all set to surpass its harvest in the 2017 Malaysia edition of the meet, a paltry 24 gold medals, the country’s worst finish since first taking part in 1977 that capped a steady decline in the Filipinos’ gold production since emerging as overall champion as third-time host with 113 victories in 2005.

Philippine sports officials are hoping the country would once again top the field, expecting Pinoy athletes to win more than 100 gold medals from 530 events being disputed in 56 sports disciplines.

Chicano made sure the country’s bets got off on the right foot on the first day of action, towing teammate Kim Remolino for a 1-2 Philippine finish in the men’s triathlon at the Subic Baywalk course in Subic.

The Olongapo-born athlete proved that third time’s a charm by lacing his victory with a personal best and record-breaking time of one minute and 53.26 seconds, topping the old mark of 1:59 30 set by Nikko Huelgas when he won his second straight men’s triathlon title two years ago in Malaysia.

Chicano failed to win a medal in his initial SEA Games foray in 2015 and finished second behind Huelgas in 2017.

A couple of hours later, Mangrobang made it a sweet sweep by ruling the women’s side of the exhausting swim-bike-run event. Teammate Kim Kilgroe completed the country’s second 1-2 finish for the day by landing the silver.

Stirring performances by the dancing duo of Ana Manalo Nualla and Sean Mischa Aranar resulted in a 10-gold rush from the Tango, Viennese Waltz and Open Standard categories of dancesports before the tandem of Willie Aunzo and Pearl Marie Caneda followed suit with victories in Salsa, Cha Cha and Rumba.

The pair of Mark Jayson Gayon and Mary Joy Renigen actually gave the Philippines its first taste of gold in the competition by topping the Waltz category before narrowly edging Singapore in Foxtrot. The two, however, could only settle for the silver in Quickstep behind Vietnam.

Not to be outdone, Michael Angelo Marquez and Stephanie Sabalo also ruled the Open Latin and Paso Doble categories.

Also perched highest at the podium at the conclusion of their full contact live stick events at the Angeles University Foundation were welterweight Mike Bañares, lightweight Villardo Cunamay, featherweight Niño Mark Talledo and bantamweight Dexler Bolambao.

The women’s team in Open Hoops and the men’s team in sepak takraw also copped gold medals at the Subic Gymnasium.

Before Mangrobang finished her race, Wong successfully defended her crown in the women’s taijiquan (form) event of wushu at the World Trade Center.

At the end of the comely 21-year-old’s routine, she garnered 9.67 points, comfortably ahead of Brunei’s Basma Lachkar (9.55) and Vietnam’s Thi Minh Huyen Tran (9.53).

Not bad at all for someone who would be looking for a double through the taijijian event on Tuesday, but tempered her own expectations in the lead-up to her events.

“I didn’t expect anything despite everything that has been written about me being the gold standard,” said Wong, who got all the hype after landing a bronze in the 2018 Asiad.

“I just didn’t want the additional pressure,” added the consular and diplomatic studies graduate.

Also living up to expectations is Yulo, who followed up his floor exercise gold in the World Championships last October by topping the individual all-around event at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Yulo scored 84.900 in six routines, easily beating Vietnamese Dinh Phuong Thanh, who settled for the silver after tallying 82.350.

The country’s bets in wushu’s sanda (sparring) also stayed in contention as Jessie Aligaga, competing in the 48kg division, Francisco Solis (56kgs), Gideon Fred Padua (60kgs) and Clemente Tabugara Jr. (65kgs) all won their opening matches to assure themselves of at least a bronze each.

The Philippines’ 3×3 teams also stayed on course for the gold in both the men’s and women’s divisions, rolling past their rivals in the expected dominant fashion.