PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Agatha Wong led Team Philippines' resurgence on Friday as the delegation won multiple gold medals after being held to a solitary gold the two previous days in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
Wong was one of four gold medalists on Friday that increased the total of the Philippines to 31, to go along with 55 silvers and 71 bronzes, reviving the country's chances at matching, if not surpassing, its fifth-place finish a year ago in Hanoi.
READ: Agatha Wong wins fifth wushu gold at SEA Games
Jocel Lyn Ninobla, Aidaine Laxa, and Nicole Labayne in the women’s recognized poomsae team event, Patrick King Perez in the men’s recognized poomsae individual, and the men’s 4x400m relay team of Umajesty Williams, Michael Del Prado, Frederick Ramirez, and Joyme Sequita accounted for the three other gold medals.
The Friday resurgence may just be the take-off point of a big surge of gold medals expected on Saturday with four of the nine boxers in two-time SEA Games champion Rogen Ladon, Tokyo Olympian Irish Magno, three-peat seeking Ian Clark Bautista, and Risa Pasuit competing in the finals at the Choy Chrongvar Convention Center.
SEA Games champions Kurt Barbosa and Dave Cea lead the taekwondo team in the kyorugi, while weightlifting also begins on Saturday in the campaign supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.
Francis Casey Alcantara and Ruben Gonzales defeated Dac Tien Nguyen and Van Phuong Nguyen, 7-6, 6-3, to advance to the men’s doubles finals to be played on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Wong claimed her fifth SEA Games crown in the taolu taijiquan + taijijian with a score of 19.623 to beat Malaysia and Brunei.
Ninobla won a third SEA Games gold medal, but her first in a team event, when she teamed up with Laxa and Labayne to beat Malaysia and Indonesia after tallying a score of 7.7200 in women's poomsae team event.
Perez beat Malaysia and Cambodia for the gold with a score of 7.4600.
The Philippines capped off Friday’s campaign with Williams, Del Prado, Ramirez, and Sequita taking the gold in a thrilling fashion, winning over Thailand by just .01 of a second.
Among the silver medalists on Friday was Samantha Catantan, who sustained a knee injury in her semifinal bout and was declared unfit to fight for the gold in the women’s foil individual final.
The women’s 4x200m relay team also took a silver medal while Ronald Oranza placed third in the men’s road race in Siem Reap to take his second bronze following the criterium on Thursday.
Sandrex Gainsan in the men’s jianshu + qiangshu and, Jenifer Kilapio, Carlos Baylon, and Russel Diaz in sanda were the bronze medalists in wushu.
The bid of Gilas Women to secure a third straight SEA Games basketball crown suffered a blow when they lost to Indonesia, 89-68, to fall to 2-1 in the round-robin format tournament.
Kristina Knott pulled out of the women’s 100m final at the close of the athletics competitions.
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