The Philippines has been making a mark in the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games with its athletes performing exceptionally well and bagging several gold medals in different events.
As of May 8, 2023, the country has already amassed 15 gold medals, with Fernando Casares, a Filipino-Spaniard, leading the charge.
Casares defended his crown as the king of men's triathlon and secured the country's first gold medal in the ongoing SEA Games.
He crossed the finish line with an impressive time of 58 minutes and 33.5 seconds, 14 ticks ahead of Rashif Amila Yaquin of Indonesia, who settled for silver.
With this win, Casares added another gold medal to his name and brought the country to the top of the men's triathlon podium for the fifth consecutive time.
In another event, the esports team SIBOL made the country proud by winning a gold medal in League of Legends: Wild Rift after defeating Vietnam 3-1.
The team, consisting of Aaron Mark Bingay, Chammy Paul Nazarrea, Golden Hart Dajao, Justine Ritchie Tan, and Reniel Angara, won three out of their four games to clinch the title, bringing the country's total gold medals to 14.
Jiu-jitsu athlete Marc Lim also made history by winning his first gold medal in the SEA Games after two unsuccessful attempts in the previous editions.
He emerged victorious in the men's ne-waza NOGI -69kg, ending his silver and bronze streaks in the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games.
Lim finally got the monkey off his back and brought home the country's 13th gold medal.
Soft tennis players Noelle Zoleta-Mañalac and Princess Catindig secured the country's 12th gold medal by winning the women's doubles competition against Thailand.
Karate athlete Jamie Lim contributed to the country's gold medal haul by winning the women's kumite 61kg event.
She defeated Cambodia's Vann Chakriya, 3-1, in front of a roaring home crowd, redeeming herself after bowing out early in the Hanoi SEA Games last year.
Lastly, Kim Mangrobang clinched the country's 10th gold medal in the duathlon event.
The multiple SEA Games gold medalist finished with a time of 1:04:25.3, beating Vietnam's Thi Phuong Trinh Nguyen and Indonesia's Maharani Azhri Wahyuningt, who won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
With their latest victories, the Philippines now has a total of 15 gold medals, 22 silver medals, and 24 bronze medals.
