BANGKOK—Filipino athletes face a pivotal Wednesday at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games as the powerhouse national boxing, 3×3 basketball, swimming and baseball teams all plunge into high-stakes action across multiple venues here.
At the Chulalongkorn University Sports Center, the Philippine boxing team begins its medal quest with six fighters seeing action in the Round of 16.
Young standouts Jay Brian Baricuatro (48kg) and Flint Jara (54kg) lead the early Philippine campaign, joined by Ian Clark Bautista (57kg) and Junmilardo Ogayre (60kg).
Olympian Nesthy Petecio opens her bid in the women’s 60kg division, while kickboxing gold medalist Claudine Veloso makes her SEA Games boxing debut in the women’s 54kg class.
POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino reminded the boxers to deliver decisive wins amid tough home-crowd conditions
“Knockout kung knockout. Kumbaga dapat convincing kung hindi convincing iyan, sad to say ‘yung hometown bet… that is the reality,” said Tolentino.
Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines executive director Marcus Manalo, on the other hand, expressed confidence in the squad’s firepower.
“Jay Brian Baricuatro is one (boxer to watch out). He also won Asian Youth under 22. Nag-silver medal rin sa World Boxing Cup in Kazakhstan in June. Napakalaki ng potential,” said Manalo.
“Tapos ‘yung mga Flint Jara. Mga hindi pa natin naririnig. Marvin Tabamo. ‘Yan ‘yung mga we’re hoping will do well,” he added.
At Nimibutr Stadium, the Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 teams brace for a demanding start to the basketball competition.
The men’s squad—Ange Kouame, Janrey Pasaol, Joseph Eriobu, and Joseph Sedurifa—opens its campaign against Vietnam at 11:50 a.m. before facing Malaysia later in the afternoon.
The women’s team, featuring Mikka Cacho, Kaye Pingol, Reynalyn Ferrer, and Jhaz Joson, meets Indonesia at 11:00 a.m. and Malaysia in the evening. Both squads are seeking redemption after settling for silver in the 2023 SEA Games.
Meanwhile, at the Queen Sirikit Baseball Stadium, the Philippine men’s baseball team eyes a crucial showdown with host Thailand following a dominant 21–1 win over Vietnam on Tuesday that improved its record to 4–0. The matchup is expected to determine pole position heading into the final phase of the eliminations.
Thailand has likewise swept its assignments and is seen as the Filipinos’ biggest threat to reclaiming the gold medal. The Philippines last captured the baseball crown in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Philippine swimming team opens campaign at the SAT Swimming Pool in Bangkok, headlined by Olympic silver medalist Kayla Sanchez and defending 200m backstroke champion Xandi Chua.
Eleven Filipino swimmers—eight women and three men—begin their preliminary events at 9 a.m. as the squad aims to improve on its 2-6-8 medal haul from the 2023 Games in Cambodia.
Making her much-awaited SEA Games debut after switching sporting allegiance in 2022, Sanchez, a Tokyo Olympics silver medalist for Team Canada in the 4×100 freestyle relay, is set for a packed schedule with six individual races and four relay events, including her first medal shot in the 4x100m freestyle relay with Chloe Isleta, Heather White and Chua. Other women seeing action are Jasmine Mojdeh and Kyla Bulaga in the 200m butterfly, and Miranda Renner in the 50m breaststroke.
The men’s roster features Logan Wataru Noguchi and Joran Paul Orogo, who will compete across all events, while Gian Christopher Santos focuses on middle-distance and medley races. The Philippines is looking to challenge regional powers Singapore and Thailand, which topped the swimming medal standings in the previous SEA Games.
