Cambodia 2-0 Philippines 1-1 Malaysia 1-1 Singapore 0-2
GAMES SATURDAY (May 13) (Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2) 11 a.m. local time / 12 noon Manila time – Vietnam vs. Philippines 1 p.m. local time / 2 p.m. Manila time – Singapore vs. Philippines (M)
PHNOM PENH. – Gilas Pilipinas tries to bounce back and clinch a semifinals berth when it faces Singapore Saturday in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball tournament at the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2.
The Philippines will go into the match at 1 p.m. (2 p.m. in Manila) looking to atone for its 79-68 loss to Cambodia last Thursday.
Head coach Chot Reyes said the team needs to play better after shooting just 36 percent from the field against Cambodia amidst the sweltering heat inside the venue.
Naturalized player Justin Brownlee suffered from cramps and dehydration and scored just 10 points.
“It was just a terrible first half for us,” said Reyes. “You saw what happened. Justin couldn’t move, severely dehydrated. The heat really got to him. But later on, he played better but then he was cramping up already because he lost too much fluids.
“It’s something that we can learn on and move on. We go to the next game and then, prepare for the knockout semifinals,” said Reyes.
Tension flared when Cambodia coach Marcus Savaya called a timeout with 20.7 seconds remaining in the contest and the result of the game already settled.
“I just want to be very polite. You all saw what happened. That’s just an unwritten rule, that’s just culture. And it’s not even coaching ethics, it’s just ethics. Just ethics, right? So, you know, if he wants to— if the other coach wants to make a fool of himself, then that’s on him. That’s not our problem,” said Reyes.
Singapore will look to play the spoilers’ role but it will be a difficult task, having lost to Cambodia, 85-60, and Malaysia, 93-70, in their previous contests.
Action also continues for Gilas Women when they face Vietnam at 11 a.m. (12 noon Manila time). (PR)
PHNOM PENH — Joseph Arcilla bucked cramps to crush Muhammad Anugerah of Indonesia, 4-1, in the finals as he secured the Philippines’ third gold medal and the unofficial overall championship in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games’ soft tennis competition here on Wednesday at the National Olympic Stadium. Ageing like fine wine, the 37-year-old Arcilla, who is backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, ramped up his championship run by whipping hometown bet Yi Keaverak, 4-2 (7-4), at noon time in Group A prelims. He followed it up with a 4-1 shellacking of Laos’ Lekki Vongphakdy, before surviving his longest match in the tournament, a close 8-6 victory over Thailand’s Kawin Yannarit en route to the gold-medal match against the Indonesian. “Nahirapan ako sa Thai at inabot kami ng 8-6, kaya pagkatapos ng game, nagka-cramps talaga ako. Meron pa rin siya sa final game. Pero inisiip ko na lang ang sinasabi ng psychologist namin na dapat laging think positive ‘pag nasa loob ng court. (I had difficulty fighting the Thai, that’s why we reached 8-6. This is the reason why I had cramps after the game and in the finals. But I just always remember what our psychologist told us to just think positive when inside the court,)” said Arcilla. The win allowed Arcilla to retain the men’s singles title and the Philippines to rule the soft tennis competition here as the Filipinos surpassed their 3-0-1 gold-silver-bronze haul during the 2019 PH SEA Games, with their 3-1-1 harvest this time around. Cambodians finished second with a 2-2-4 tally, followed by Indonesia at 2-2-1. Arcilla also led the Philippines to the men’s team bronze, with PSC commissioners Fritz Gaston and Wawit Torres cheering them on. Meanwhile, Bambi Zoleta fell to Indonesian Dwi Pitri in the women’s singles, 4-3 (7-4), to settle for the silver. Zoleta was part of the PH women’s team that grabbed a gold on Tuesday, with Christy Sañosa, Fatima Ayesha Amirul, Noelle Conchita Mañalac and Virvienica Isearis Bejosano, and doubles’ champion doubles champion Bien Zoleta-Manalac and Princess Catindig.
Esports
Sibol settles for Valorant PC mixed team bronze
PHNOM PENH— Team Sibol settled for the bronze medal in the Valorant PC mixed team event of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games’ esports competitions at the Olympia Mall here on Wednesday. Jed “Draxiimov” Jamir was hailed as the Most Valuable Player of the bronze-medal match after Sibol swept its best-of-three championship showdown with Vietnam, 2-0 (13-5, 13-10).
Coach JC del Rosario said the team had a bad time after they bowed out of contention in the semifinals to Indonesia, 0-2 (1-13, 2-13)
But they were able to work on regaining the momentum early in taking third place. “Momentum favored our opponents in the semifinals. But this time, we tried to catch up and we did,” said Del Rosario. Singapore advanced to the finals against Indonesia, following a 2-0 (13-7,13-8) shutout of Vietnam.
Sibol reached the semis stage after sweeping its five-game stage assignment. The team is entered in five medal games, namely Crossfire and Valorant for PC, PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legends: Bang-Bang, and League of Legends: Wild Rift, where it scored its first esports gold with a 3-1 victory against Vietnam last Monday. The following day, they bagged the bronze in Crossfire.(PR)
PHNOM PENH — Woman International Master Shania Mae Mendoza delivered the Philippines’ fourth chess medal, a silver, following a second-game setback to Doan Thi Hong Nhung of Vietnam in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games ouk chaktrang on Tuesday at the Royal University here. The two split the point in the first game, before Doan secured the win, and the gold in the women’s singles 60-minute event. It was the Philippine team’s third medal in the ouk chaktrang event following the bronze of Venice Vicente in the men’s side and the silver of Mendoza and Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna in the double 60-minute play. The fourth medal is a bronze from the men’s quadruple 60-minute, courtesy of Grandmasters Joey Antonio and Darwin Lalylo, and International Masters Paulo Bersamina and Jan Emmanuel Garcia. The Philippines shoots for the elusive gold on Thursday as Jackson Hong and IM Angelo Young plunge into action in the men’s singles, and WIM Marie Antoinette San Diego begins her campaign in the women’s five-round singles. Young and Jackson return to the chess hall in the rapid team event on May 14, to be followed by Bersamina and Garcia in the blitz team on May 15.(PR)
PHNOM PENH – Fernando Casares successfully defended the men’s title after Kim Mangrobang failed in her bid for a fourth straight gold medal in women’s triathlon on Monday at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games here.
Casares clocked 58 minutes and 33.5 seconds to clinch the gold medal, defeating Indonesia’s Rashif Yaqin (58:47) in the 750m swim-20km bike-5km run men’s event at the Kep Beach Resort.
Andrew Kim Remolino finished third in 59:53 for the bronze, the Cebuano’s second medal following a silver finish in men’s aquathlon last Saturday.
Mangrobang, who topped the women’s duathlon race last Sunday, clocked (1:07:24) to finish second behind Cambodian naturalized entry Margot Garabedian, who clocked one hour, five minutes and 34.2 seconds.
Garabedian is a former French triathlete currently ranked 190th in the world.
Singapore’s Louisa Marie Middleditch reached the podium in third (1:07:24) in the swim-bike-run race of the endurance race.
Raven Alcoseba placed fourth (1:08:49.1), more than three minutes behind the 27-year-old Garabedian.
The Philippines bagged three out of the possible seven gold medals in aquathlon (3), duathlon (2) and triathlon (2) and a pair of silvers from Remolino in men’s aquathlon and Mangrobang.
The PH mixed aquathlon relay team of Erika Burgos, Inaki Lorbes, Kira Ellis and Matthew Hermosa likewise bagged a gold medal. (PR)
PHNOM PENH – For the second straight day, obstacle course racers remained perfect, leading a six-gold medal charge Sunday that kept the Philippines in the mix of things in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games here.
Putting the finishing touches to a scintillating stint in the four-day event, the men’s and women’s relay teams proved too much for the opposition, taking the last two mints to complete a four-gold sweep, further reinforcing their status as the best in the region.
With another big crowd watching at the Chroy Chavrang Convention Center Car Park, the men’s quartet of Ahgie Radan, Elias Tabac, Mervin Guarte, and Jay-ar de Castro hurdled all the obstacles in a new global standard of 24.47 seconds to beat Malaysia’s Ghalib Mohamad Azimi, Mohd Redha Rozlan, Nuur Hafis Said Alwi and Yoong Wei Theng, who clocked 25.15.
Earlier, Sandi Menchi Abahan, Mecca Cortizano, Milky Mae Tejares and Maritess Nocyao reigned supreme in the women’s category with a world mark of 33.73 at the expense of Indonesia’s Anggun Yolanda, Ayu Pupita, Mudji Mulyani and Rahmayuna Fadillah (35.06).
The other gold medals were delivered by reigning duathlon queen Kim Mangrobang, the women’s soft tennis squad of Bien Zoleta-Mañalac and Princess Catindig, jiu jitsu fighter Marc Lim who finally triumphed in his third SEA Games, and karateka Jamie Lim, who bounced back from her bronze medal finish in Vietnam last year.
Mangrobang kept her crown in the 5k run, 20km bike and 2.5k run finale at the Kep Beach Resort, Zoleta-Mañalac and Catindig completed a championship sweep capped by a 5-2 victory over Chatmanee and Napawee Jankiaw of Thailand in the women’s doubles finals, Marc Lim beat Vietnam’s Dang Dinh Tung for the men’s ne-waza nogi 69kg gold, and Jamie Lim returned to her rightful place on top of the SEA Games karate world by ruling the women’s -61kg women’s individual kumite at the Chroy Changvar Center Hall A.
The Filipinos, backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, ended the day with 13 gold medals in a tie with Indonesia for second, just ahead of Vietnam which had 12.
First-time host Cambodia was on top of the heap with 25 gold, 19 silver and 19 bronze medals, mainly through its domination of indigenous sports like kun-bokator, an ancient form of martial art; kun khmer, and vovinam.
The Filipinos also had 14 silver medals, one of them coming from the Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 men’s squads that lost 15-20 to the Cambodian team that featured three naturalized players in Brandon Peterson, Sayeed Pridgett, and Darrin Dorsey that left PSC Commissioner Fritz Gaston referring to the squad as the “US” team.
The women’s 3×3 team also lost to Vietnam 16-21 after ousting Thailand 21-19 in an emotional victory earlier.
Karate also contributed four silver medals for the day, courtesy of kumite fighters Matthew Manantan (men’s -67 kg), Ivan Agustin (-84 kg), Remon Misu (-68 kg women) and Ariane Brito (+68kg women).
But Cambodia’s bid for a Cinderella finish will be severely tested when the region’s big guns, among them the Filipinos, Thais, Indonesians, and Malaysians, press their bids in several martial arts disciplines and athletics, which get going Monday at the Morodok Techo Stadium.
Lim, the daughter of former PBA star Samboy Lim, went home with a bronze medal in Vietnam last year but regained the crown she won in 2019 when he humbled Cambodian Vann Chakriya in the title match 3-1.
“I had less (time) for social media, no Tiktok and IG (Instagram) for the last few months but now everything is okay,” Lim, now a two-time SEA Games gold medalist after ruling the 2019 edition in Manila, enthused after her impressive win.
Two of the three boxers that went into action Sunday – Rogen Ladon and Ian Clark Bautista – assured themselves of bronze medals after pounding out big wins while James Palicte bowed out of contention.
Ladon, the winner of 2019 and 2022 SEA Games gold medals, overcame the hugging and holding strategy of Indonesian Ingatan Ilahi to score a 5-0 unanimous decision win and advance to the flyweight semifinals against Malaysian Muhammad Abdul Qaiyum Ariffin.
Bautista, a two-time SEA Games gold medalist, beat Van Duong Nguyen of Vietnam via a referee-stopped-contest due to injury after inflicting a cut on his foe’s left eyebrow in their featherweight duel. He will face next Asri Udin of Indonesia in the semifinals.
Palicte lost to Van Ratha of Cambodia via split decision in the light welterweight quarterfinals. (PR)
PHNOM PENH. – A silver and a bronze raised hopes of a decent finish for the Philippines in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games swimming competition last Saturday at the Morodok Techo Sports Complex here.
The men’s team had a promising start after Jerard Jacinto copped the bronze in the 100m backstroke with a time of 55.99, breaking his own national record of 56.27 set in the 2019 World Junior Championships.
Singapore’s Quah Zheng Wen ruled the event in 55.22, while Indonesia’s Farrel Armandio Tangkas clocked 55.80 for the silver.
Jacinto’s bronze is the men’s squad’s first medal since the 2019 SEA Games after it was left holding an empty bag in Vietnam, where the Philippines finished last in swimming with one gold, three silvers, and three bronzes – all coming from the women’s crew.
“I think it’s a very good sign,” said national head coach Archie Lim. “It shows that if you really try, if you really push it, there’s always a chance. It shows that he took a chance and got a medal.”
The quartet of Teia Salvino, Miranda Renner, Xiandi Chua, and Jasmine Alkhaldi ended the day on a high by taking the silver in the women’s 4x100m freestyle, clocking 3:47.96.
Singapore finished over two seconds faster at 3:44.29 for the gold, while Thailand bagged the bronze in 3.50.01.
Lim said the four exceeded expectations in the event where the country failed to medal last year.
“They won a silver as a group, so we’re hoping that it serves as a motivation in the next few days that if we really just work together and really try hard, there’s always a chance to get a medal,” said Lim.
Medals in the men’s 50m backstroke, men’s 100m breaststroke, men’s 50m freestyle, men’s 4×200 freestyle relay, women’s 50m backstroke, women’s 200m freestyle, and women’s 200m individual medley were being disputed Sunday.(PR)
Sakura Alforte, gold medalist in women’s individual Kata held at Chroy Chongva International Convention Center.
PHNOM PENH. – An obstacle racer with a championship pedigree and a comely fitness model sparked a five-gold haul by the Philippines Saturday even as host Cambodia kept its hold on the early medal lead in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games here.
Competing in the obstacle course 100m event before a big crowd at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center Car Park, Mark Julian Rodelas, 35, a nephew of athletics great Elma Muros Posadas, topped the men’s individual class while Precious Cabuya made her SEA Games debut doubly memorable by ruling the women’s division.
Sakura Alforte opened the country’s bid in the three-day karate event by bagging the women’s individual kata gold, Annie Ramirez delivered a second gold in jiu jitsu and the mixed relay team in aquathlon composed of Matthew Justine Hermosa,
Inaki Emil Lorbes, Kira Ellis and Erika Nicole Burgos scored a big triumph just before dusk set in.
Those five victories came after Jenna Kaila Napolis delivered the Philippines’ first gold in jiu-jitsu and Angel Gwen Derla scored a surprising but welcome triumph in the ancient Cambodian martial of kun-bokator last Thursday.
A day after the formal opening ceremonies of the games being hosted for the first time by Cambodia, the Philippines has amassed a total of 7 gold, — silver and – bronze, good for second overall behind the host squad that will go into action Sunday with an 11-8-6 mark.
One of the heart-breakers for the day was the silver medal finish of Junna Tsukii in karate that left the Fil-Japanese perplexed, convinced that she was the clear winner over Malaysian Chandran Shamalarani, who was proclaimed the winner by a 2-3 decision in the individual female -50kg kumite.
“I cannot understand the judges and the referee, why they gave the decision to her. I was really surprised with the decision. I’m sorry, this is not the color of the medal that we wanted but that’s it,” said Tsukii, 31, the 2022 Birmingham World Games gold medalist.
The Gilas Pilipinas and Gilas women 3×3 squads advanced to the semifinals, a day before the Gilas 5-on-5 team arrives here.
The men’s team of Almond Vosotros, Lervin Flores, Joseph Eriobu, and Joseph Sedurifa swept the group stage with victories over Laos, 21-5; Vietnam, 21-13; and Indonesia, 21-11, in Group A while women’s squad of Jack Animam, Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos, and Mikka Cacho stumbled in the first game with a 21-19 defeat to Vietnam but bounced back in Group A against Laos, 21-6, and reigning champion Thailand, 14-8.
Three swimmers – Jerard Jacinto, Thanya dela Cruz, and Jarod Hatch – advanced to the finals being held at press time.
With Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino in the crowd watching, Rodelas dethroned 2019 champion Kevin Pascua in an all-Filipino duel, clocking 25.1939 seconds against the latter’s 26.8135.
Cabuya clocked 32.7317 in the women’s finals, relegating compatriot Kaizen dela Serna, who timed 35.5218, to second.
Like it did in Vietnam last year, triathlon and other events under its wings, in this case mixed relay team aquathlon, produced an early gold for Filipinos, courtesy of Hermosa, Lorbes, Ellis, and Burgos.
The four clocked a combined one hour, nine minutes and 57 seconds in the 500m swim and 2.5km run event, easily winning over an Indonesian squad that clocked 1:11.28 and Vietnam, which settled for third in 1:13.321.
Rodelas, whose father Mario is the second cousin of Elma, a 15-time SEA Games champion in the long jump, sprint, and heptathlon, won a bronze in his initial foray in the sport in 2019 when the games were held in the Philippines.
Looking to stamp his mark, he quit his job as a high school English teacher and, for the next four years, “I really trained hard to reach a higher level.”
The mixed relay team’s victory in aquathlon came on the heels of Andre Kim Remolino’s silver medal finish in men’s aquathlon earlier in the day in the seaside town of Kep, 167 kilometers away from here.
Remolino clocked 15 minutes and seven seconds in the 500m swim and 2.5k run sprint event in the town of Kep, 167 kilometers from here, with Indonesian Rashif Yaqin winning in 14:28.
Cambodia’s naturalized entry, Margot Marabedian, topped the women’s side in 16:09 and loomed as the biggest threat to the title-retention bid of Filipina Kim Mangrobang, 31, who will seek to annex her fourth straight title in women’s triathlon on Monday.
Marabedian, 27, is a former French triathlete, one of three naturalized athletes Cambodia is fielding here. (PR)
MANILA – Cambodia’s capital city of Phnom Penh will host majority of the events in the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games scheduled May 5 to 16.
Competition venues in Phnom Penh are the Morodok Techno National Sports Complex (athletics – track and field; aquatics – diving, swimming and fin swimming; badminton; 5×5 and 3×3 basketball; field hockey; lawn and table tennis; and indoor volleyball), National Olympic Stadium (billiards, kickboxing, Kun Khmer, petanque, soft tennis, water polo, taekwondo, and weightlifting), Chroy Changvar International Convention and Exhibition Centre (arnis, boxing, fencing, jujitsu, judo, karate, Kun Bokator, vovinam, obstacle race, pencak silat, wrestling, and wushu), AZ Group Cricket Oval (cricket), Nagaworld 2 (e-sports), Olympic Marquee (dance sports, aerobic and artistic gymnastics), Garden City Golf Club (golf), Rong Roeung Hall (floorball and indoor hockey), NSTC Basketball Hall (sepak takraw), Federation of Youth Hall (teqball), and Royal University of Phnom Penh (chess – Ok Chaktrong and Xiangqi).
Football will be played at Morodok Techno National Stadium, Olympic Stadium, Prince Stadium, RSN Stadium, and Army Stadium in Phnom Penh.
Other venues are in Siem Reap (athletics – 20-km walk and marathon; cycling – road race and mountain bike), Sihanoukville (beach volleyball, jet ski, and sailing), Kampot (traditional boat race), and Kep (triathlon, aquathlon and duathlon).
The travel time from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Kep, and Kampot will take between two and six hours.
The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at the Morodok Techno National Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 60,000.
Meanwhile, competition in 10 sports will start before the opening ceremony on May 5.
Football will begin on April 29, followed by indoor hockey and sailing on May 1, cricket (T50/T10) on May 2, chess (Ok Chaktrong) on May 3, and e-sports, jujitsu, obstacle, indoor volleyball and Kun Bokator on May 4.
The Philippines will send 840 athletes to Cambodia, more than the 656 who competed in 38 sports in the 2022 Vietnam edition where the country finished fourth with 226 medals (52-70-104 gold-silver-bronze tally).
A total of 1,119 Filipinos competed in 56 sports during the 2019 Manila SEA Games.
Team Philippines, led by chef de mission Chito Loyzaga and deputies Paolo Tancontian and Leonora Escollante, will lead a formal sendoff ceremony on April 15 at Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. (PNA)
PH women’s volley reaches podium in ASEAN Grand Prix
The Philippine women’s national volleyball team reached the medal podium in the just concluded second leg of ASEAN Grand Prix held at the Sta. Rosa Multi-purpose Gym.
The Pinoy lady spikers secured the bronze medal after dropping their match to Indonesia (21-25, 17-25, 25-21, 21-25) in the tournament that served as a test event for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
But it was the game against the powerhouse Thailand that broke the hearts of the team when they lost with the absence Alyssa Valdez, Maddie Madayag, Jia Morado and Jovelyn Gonzaga.
All four players had a prior commitment with their respective teams in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) that was held in Iloilo City, forcing the team to play with only 10 players.
Thailand captured the gold medal with a perfect 6-0 win-loss slate, which included victories in the first leg.
Valdez treats the setback as part of the training process for the nationals as they play in front of the home crowd with two months of preparation before the 30th Southeast Asian Games Philippines’ hosting on November 30 to December 11.
“It’s saddening that we lost. But it’s one way of seeing what other things we need to improve on as a team and also as an individual. We are really looking forward sa mga positive things na mangyayari pa sa team namin for future training camps. So hopefully mag-improve pa kami as a team,” said the 26-year old Valdez.
Coach Shaq Delos Santos, on the other hand, believes that the team has to improve more in handling pressure and to make the home crowd an inspiration to win.
“We must focus on our service and receiving. We also need to handle the pressure pagdating sa mga ganitong labanan. Sobrang laki ng factor ng crowd, napakalaking advantage nila so we have to be inspired by them,” he said.
Right after some tournament commitments, the whole team will fly to Japan and focus on training for the upcoming biennial meet where they aim to finish at least a bronze medal.
The Philippines will bank on Kath Arado, Majoy Baron, Tots Carlos, Gel Cayuna, Celine Domingo, Jema Galanza, Eya Laure, Denden Lazaro, Dawn Macandili, Jerrili Malabanan, Aby Maraño, Kalei Mau, Ces Molina, Mylene Paat, MJ Phillips, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Mika Reyes, Alohi Robins-Hardy, Jaja Santiago, Dindin Santiago-Manabat, Gonzaga, Morado, Madayag, and Valdez.(pr)
Mo Billacura 