BANGKOK — When Team Philippines needed a lift on a long, emotional Sunday at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games here, Agatha Wong once again proved why she is one of the country’s most reliable champions.
The 27-year-old veteran wushu artist steadied the national campaign by clinching the gold in the women’s taijijian and taijiquan, delivering the Philippines’ brightest moment of the day and her sixth career SEA Games gold medal at the Ratthaprasasanphakdi Building Government Complex.
Wong topped the field with 9.783 points, edging Brunei’s Lachkar Basma (9.780) and Singapore’s Law Zeanne Zhi Ning (9.766), and capped another composed performance that reaffirmed her status as a pillar of Philippine wushu.
“Sixth SEA Games gold medal of my career. For God and my country,” Wong said after her win, which added to her taijiquan titles in 2017, 2019 and 2021 and taijijian crowns in 2019 and 2021.
“Ang payo ko is if you want something, you have to keep on working… I think my no. 1 fear is mapahiya ko ang Pilipinas, but today, I’m glad that I performed and I delivered,” she added, dedicating the victory to her family and the nation.
Wong’s golden effort set the tone for a mixed, but hopeful day for the Filipinos, highlighted as well by another strong showing from Olympic medalist Kayla Sanchez, already the most bemedaled Filipino athlete in this edition of the Games.
Sanchez narrowly missed a fourth gold after settling for silver in the women’s 50-meter freestyle, finishing just 0.12 seconds behind Singapore’s Amanda Lim Xiang Qi.
The Philippines completed a podium double as Heather White captured the bronze.
Despite the slim margin, Sanchez’s silver further embellished a historic campaign that has already seen her collect three golds and two silvers, surpassing the mark set by Akiko Thomson as the winningest Filipina swimmer in a single SEA Games.
On the roads of Prachin Buri, Philippine cycling continued to grind out results as the men’s team time trial squad claimed a bronze medal, finishing behind Indonesia and Thailand in the 48.50-kilometer race.
“It was a tough race but our training paid well for us,” said Mark John Lexer Galedo, part of the road coaching staff.
Meanwhile, Gilas Pilipinas provided a rousing note on the hardcourt, opening its men’s basketball title defense with an emphatic 83-58 rout of Malaysia at Nimibutr Stadium.
Ray Parks Jr. led the way with 18 points as the Filipinos clamped down defensively to turn an early deficit into a runaway win.
“We have to get better as the tournament goes on,” Gilas coach Norman Black said. “Defensively, we played well in the second and third quarter… Hopefully, we’ll get another victory against Vietnam in our next game.”
Not all results went the Philippines’ way.
Alas Pilipinas bowed to Vietnam in straight sets in the women’s indoor volleyball semifinals, falling short of a long-awaited finals return.
In weightlifting, Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz endured a difficult return to the SEA Games, finishing fourth in the women’s 58kg division and missing the podium. The two-time SEA Games gold medalist was candid afterward.
“First, I want to say sorry but I did my best… it’s not an excuse. At the end of the day, hindi ako sumuko,” Diaz said, citing lingering injury issues and the challenge of returning after nearly two years away from competition.
The horizon, though, remains bright for Team Philippines, with Alex Eala set to begin her singles and mixed doubles campaigns in tennis as she chases a breakthrough SEA Games gold, and the Philippine U22 football team on the cusp of history as it faces Vietnam in the semifinals, eyeing the country’s first-ever finals appearance.
