THAILAND—Team Philippines delivered its most productive day in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games on Friday, erupting for five gold medals across gymnastics, baseball, taekwondo, athletics, and swimming.
Artistic gymnast John Ivan Cruz continued his ascent as one of the region’s brightest talents, securing the men’s vault gold—his second consecutive SEA Games’ title.
Cruz tallied an average score of 13.833, sharing the top prize with Malaysia’s Muhammad Sharul Aimy. His latest triumph comes on the heels of the Philippines’ vault gold a day earlier from Fil-Am star Aleah Finnegan, who bagged the balance beam bronze this time around.
“Ang target ko po sana ay ma-defend ko ‘yung floor exercise title pero ito po ‘yung binigay ni God at ‘di ko po siya sinayang, nag-focus po ako ng maayos, nag-pahinga ako ng maayos para dito,” said Cruz.
In Pathum Thani, the Philippine men’s baseball team extended its dominance after a gritty 5–3 victory over host Thailand at Queen Sirikit Baseball Stadium.
Veteran pitcher Romeo Jasmin, 37, was sensational, fanning 10 batters across eight innings before young reliever Amiel de Guzman shut the door in the ninth, striking out the final two hitters and triggering jubilant scenes from the Filipino dugout.
The victory sealed the Philippines’ third straight baseball gold, and fourth in the five editions in which the sport has been played (2005, 2011, 2019, 2025).
For assistant coach Joseph Orillana, it was especially sweet, having been part of the 2007 squad that lost the gold medal to Thailand.
“‘Yung pagkatalo namin sa kanila nu’ng 2007 mabigat,” he said. “Kaya sabi ko, ‘wag na ‘wag tayong didikit dito kasi anything can happen.’”
Over in Bangkok, 18-year-old taekwondo rising star Tachiana Mangin stunned the home crowd by capturing the women’s 49kg kyorugi gold in her very first SEA Games appearance.
Mangin outclassed Thailand’s Kamonchanok Seeken, 2–0, ending the host nation’s eight-Games dominance of the division—a stretch that included four titles from Olympic champion Panipak Wongpattanakit.
On the track, John Cabang Tolentino delivered the country’s first athletics’ gold of the games, powering to victory in the men’s 110m hurdles.
Cabang Tolentino crossed in 13.66 seconds, edging Singapore’s Chen Xiang Ang by just 0.09 seconds in a thrilling finish that drew roars of celebration from Filipino supporters.
And in the pool, Kayla Sanchez added yet another feat to her growing legend, winning the women’s 100m freestyle gold in commanding fashion.
Sanchez—already a champion in the 4x100m freestyle relay—led a 1–2 Filipino finish alongside Heather White, who secured silver.
