PHNOM Penh, Cambodia – The Philippines collected two gold medals before the 32nd Southeast Asian Games formally opens on Friday, putting it in second place in the medal tally just behind the host nation.
Kaila Napolis of jujitsu bagged the first gold medal of Team Philippines, which was followed shortly by Angel Gwen Derla's win in kun bokator as it finished Thursday’s competition with a 2-2-3 gold-silver-bronze production.
Host Cambodia is in first place with 5-4-0 before the Games' opening ceremony on Friday at the Morodok Techo Stadium.
READ: Filipino Derla beats Cambodian bet in their own game
Thailand is also on the board with a 1-1-1 tally, followed by Laos (1-0-3), Indonesia (0-1-5), Myanmar (0-1-3), and Vietnam (0-0-3).
Competitions will take a respite on Friday to give way to the opening ceremony, where volleyball star Alyssa Valdez will carry the Philippine flag at the head of an all-female athletes’ contingent in the campaign supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.
Napolis beat Cambodia star Jessa Khan to cap a four-game sweep of the competition in the women’s Newa-za gi -52kg division while Derla topped the women’s single bamboo shield form in the Cambodian indigenous event.
Mark James Lacao (men’s single bamboo shield form) and Rhichein Yosorez (women’s single bare hands form) accounted for the Philippines' silver medals for the day.
Karl Navarro and Harvey Navarro (ju-jitsu men’s duo), Isabela Montana and Dianne Bargo (ju-jitsu women’s show), and Alyssa Mallari (women’s single bokator spirit form) took bronze medals on Thursday.
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