By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

WHILE the overall championship and its best finish in the Southeast Asian Games to date are already in the bag, host country the Philippines continued to pile on its total medal haul on the ninth day of competition on Monday.

With gold medals from karatedo, archery, boxing and jiu-jitsu, among others, the Philippines, as of this writing, has accumulated 307 medals, 121 of which were gold, in the ongoing edition of the biennial regional sporting meet, with more expected to come in later in the day.

Jamie Lim gave the Philippine karatedo team a gold in the finals of the women’s +61kg kumite event held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

The daughter of Philippine Basketball Association legend Samboy, Ms. Lim defeated Indonesia’s Ceyco Zefanya, 2-1, in the finals to earn the second gold for the sport for the Philippines in the ongoing Games.

“I’m just so happy. I look up to my parents, my dad and my mom (Atty. Darlene Berberabe), and to be compared to them, it’s so big for me. It’s a special day for me,” said Ms. Lim after her gold conquest.

In archery, the husband-and-wife team of Paul Marton dela Cruz and Rachelle dela Cruz finished on top of the archery mixed compound recurve event in Clark, Pampanga.

The Dela Cruzes bested Chau Kieu Oanh and Nguyen Van Day of Vietnam, 148-147, to claim the top hardware.

Finishing with the bronze was the Indonesian duo of Sri Ranti and Prima Wardphana.

At the Philippine International Convention Center Forum, meanwhile, boxer Carlo Paalam captured the light flyweight gold after winning by points, 5-0, over Indonesia’s Kornelis Langu.

Jiu-jitsu also added gold medals with Meggie Ochoa, Carlo Angelo Peña and Dean Michael Roxas ruling the women’s U-45kg, men’s U-56kg and U-85kg divisions.

Ms. Ochoa won by points over Vietnam’s Le Thu Trang Dao, 13-0, while Mr. Peña also won by points, 17-2, over Rengga Richard of Indonesia. Mr. Roxas, for his part, won by submission over Singapore’s Benjamin Jie Jun Chia.

Also yesterday, silver and bronze medals were won by the Philippines in boxing, jiu-jitsu, karatedo, athletics and gymnastics.

TEAM SPORTS DELIVER
Meanwhile, Philippine team sports had it golden at the weekend with the country’s rugby 7, baseball and esports teams topping their respective events.

The Philippine Volcanoes dominated the men’s division, blasting defending champion Malaysia, 19-0, to capture the gold medal in the men’s category on Dec. 8 in Clark.

It was the second time that the Volcanoes defeated the Malaysians in the finals after scoring a 24-7 triumph in the 2015 Singapore SEA Games before finishing fourth in the 2017 edition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Philippine men’s baseball team, for its part, routed Thailand, 15-2, also on Sunday to win gold.

The Filipinos unleashed their full force against the hapless Thais, scoring on each of the first seven innings to win the gold medal in eight innings.

In esports, Filipino representatives in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang clinched gold medal against Indonesia late Sunday, 3-2.

Part of the Philippine esports team Sibol, the local bets trailed early in the best-of-five series, 1-2, but fought back to stun the Indonesian team that had veterans from the world championship of the popular mobile game last month.

CASUGAY AS FLAG-BEARER
Filipino surfer Roger Casugay, meanwhile, will serve as Team Philippines’ flag-bearer for the closing ceremonies of the 30th SEA Games on Wednesday, the Philippine Sports Commission had announced.

Mr. Casugay made news at the weekend after he helped a rival surfer who had trouble in the waves of Monalisa Point beach in La Union after his surfer’s leash broke.

The Filipino surfer has gotten a lot of praise, including from Indonesian President Joko Widodo, for showing the traits that embody true sportsmanship.

Mr. Casugay’s selfless act of helping others somehow overshadowed his gold medal win in men’s longboarding category on Sunday.

“These Games are not only about medals. It is about character, resilience, love for one another and shoring up the faith of the person next to you, something that Casugay has exemplified,’’ said Philippine Sports Commission chair William Ramirez on Monday in a statement.

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