PHNOM PENH—The Philippine men’s and women’s squads stayed on track for the two gold medals at stake in the relays event of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games Obstacle Sports competition at the Chroy Changvar Car Park here.
Led by former track and field star Mervin Guarte, the Filipinos took heat 1 of the 100-meter course in 25.857 seconds, ahead of Indonesia, which clocked 25.789 seconds in second place.
Guarte’s crew then slipped to second spot in the second heat after clocking 36.878, with Malaysia moving ahead at 26.197.
“Ginawa namin lahat ng puwede naming gawin. Doon sa monkey bars naging crucial sa start,” said the 31-year-old Guerte.
Guarte unravelled a new move in the monkey bars, finishing the 10-meters with just three grabs of the horizontal iron rods, instead of five, in order to quickly finish the challenge.
Guarte’s teammates Jayr de Castro Elias Tabac and Ahgie Radan then took turns in helping his team arrange a gold-medal duel with Malaysia.
The women’s quartet of Mhick Tejares, Sandi Abahan, Tess Nocyao and Mecca Cortizano took second place in the first heat in 49.891, with Indonesia in front with a time of 36.578.
Indonesia still led in the second heat in 56.477 seconds to stay in the race for the top plum, while the Filipinas timed 35.0435 seconds.
Team Philippines is back after four years, upbeat of their performance, which could be a repeat of the 2019 edition held in Manila, where Filipinos swept the gold medals at stake.