AS expected, the country’s top sports officials called the Southeast Asia Games campaign in Thailand a success. They said they were “happy” with the results even if we did not surpass the previous Games’ edition in gold medal output and the country actually slid from fifth place overall to sixth.
If Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino can call that performance “very successful,” as SPIN.ph reported, we have to wonder when the POC will ever assess a campaign a failure.
READ POC, PSC declare SEA Games campaign a success despite obstacles
Maybe when the Philippines is relegated to eighth, ninth, or 10th place in the standings? In a contest with a total of 10 countries competing?
Our athletes — bless them! — won 50 gold, 73 silver, and 154 bronze medals. Two years ago, in Cambodia, we won 58-85-117. Officials gleefully pointed out that our bronzes showed a jump, calling it a view of things to come and refusing to see that the reason we’re picking up more bronzes is because the other countries are happily plucking the golds and silvers!
The SEA Games is not a contest to show which nation wins more silvers and bronzes. The SEA Games, we’ve always said, is the weakest among multi-nation, multisports, Olympic-style competitions in the world. It is not the place to settle for silvers or bronzes! If we can’t hack it here, how do we expect to shine in the Asian Games and the Olympics?
“Very successful para sa amin. We broke many records. We beat their games. ‘Yun ang importante doon. We beat their games. We defended our games,” Tolentino said during a wrap-up assessment presscon.
Yes, that is true. But we also fumbled‚— losing in basketball (where we won the 3x3 event and lost it now) and in boxing, besides hardly making a dent in swimming and track and field, two of the richest medal sources.
When the final chapter is written, and all’s been debated and settled, we would still have to conclude that the Philippines finished last, technically and theoretically.
Why?
There are 11 nation members in the SEAG, but in this 2025 edition, with Cambodia’s withdrawal because of its ongoing border war with Thailand, there are 10.
Behind us in seventh to tenth place are Myanmar, Laos, Brunei and Timor-Leste, in that descending order. And do you know how many gold medals those four nations won? Six, with Myanmar on top with three, Laos 2, Brunei 1, and Timor Leste zero. It’s safe to say athletes from these countries were there largely to gain experience.
COLUMN: When did 5th place at SEA Games become the national goal?
The SEA Games becomes, effectively, a battle for supremacy among six nations and, given this count, we are at rock bottom.
For the record, host Thailand won 233 gold medals, 154 silvers and 112 bronzes. Followed by Indonesia with 91-111-131. Vietnam with 87-81-110. Malaysia with 57-57-117. Singapore with 52-61-89.
If Tolentino can sleep soundly with these figures, so be it. Good luck to us at the next SEA Games in Malaysia in 2027.
Meanwhile, our heartfelt gratitude to the men and women who left nothing on the field, win or lose, and delivered to us moments of joy and, on occasion, grief. Also to the unheralded staff — the nutritionists, physical therapists, coaches and trainers, doctors and nurses, the baggage boys, and all those who labored behind the scenes — who experienced the same joy of victory and agony of defeat, may all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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