THE Philippines drew with Singapore, 6-6, on Friday night to stay on course for a silver- medal finish in the 30th Southeast Asian Games men’s water polo competition at the New Clark City Aquatics Center.
The Filipinos assured themselves of a medal heading to the final day of competitions on Sunday by salvaging a point against 27-time SEA Games champion Singapore, whose reign ended on Thursday after a shocking 7-5 loss to Indonesia.
The Philippines, coached by Rey Galang assisted by Dale Evangelista, is in second place with four points following a win and two draws, and will get the silver with a win over winless Malaysia on Sunday.
Indonesia beat Malaysia, 14-7, in the first match to end the tournament with seven points following three wins and a draw. It went on to clinch the gold with the draw between the Philippines and Singapore.
Singapore will play Thailand on Sunday, hoping for an upset win by Malaysia over the Philippines to salvage a silver.
The result is already an improvement from the previous performances in which they missed podium finishes after consistently winning silver medals, the last one in 2011. They failed to participate in 2013.
The men’s water polo team is composed of Tani Gomez Jr., Matthew Royce Uy, Macgyver Reyes, Mark Erwin Valdez, Mico Anota, Reynaldo Salonga Jr., Teodoro Roy Canete Jr., Romark Johnson Belo, Adan Gonzales, Mummar Alamara, Juan Paolo Serrano, Arnel Amiladid, and Vincent Sicat.
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