By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Philippines just wrapped up its 2023 Southeast Asian Games showing with a fifth-place finish after two weeks of sporting events held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
PHL tallied a total of 58 golds, 85 silvers, and 117 bronze medals in the biennial sporting meet highlighted by a dominant showing in pole vaulting, gymnastics, arnis, taekwondo, wrestling, boxing, and men’s basketball.
The Filipino athletes made an impressive outing in Cambodia after surpassing their 52-gold medal haul during the 2022 SEA Games edition hosted by Vietnam.
Despite the ups and downs after arriving in Cambodia, the PHL delegation still found a way to exit the SEA Games with an impressive outing.
Vietnam was hailed as the overall champions after collecting a total of 136 golds, 105 silvers, and 118 bronze medals.
Sitting at the no. 2 spot are the national athletes from Thailand with 312 medals off 108 golds, 96 silvers, and 108 bronze medals.
Indonesia took over as the third best-performing country after nabbing 87 golds, 80 silvers, and 109 bronze medals followed by the host country with 81 golds, 74 silvers, and 127 bronze medals.
Leading the pack in delivering the gold medals for the PHL delegation were Carlos Yulo in gymnastics, EJ Obiena in pole vaulting, Maria Vergara in wrestling, and Gretel De Paz in kickboxing.
Also bringing pride to the country are the members of the Gilas Pilipinas men’s 5×5 basketball squad after reclaiming the gold medal that they lost last year in Hanoi.
After losing against Cambodia during the preliminary round, the Filipinos exacted revenge during the championship match to win their 19th overall SEA Games gold medal.
