PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Joseph Arcilla, who won the men's singles title in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, has credited overseas exposure for winning five medals here.

Interviewed on The Athletes' Tribune, Arcilla said the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions has enabled them to prepare and match the three gold medals they won in 2019 at home.

The national team completed a 17-day training camp in Sunchang, South Korea from 29 March to 14 April.

"At first, we were nervous since it's been a while playing in the SEA Games. But playing and training outside of the Philippines got our confidence back and slowly, we were able to recover since we were competing against different opponents," Arcilla told host Nikki Viola.

"So when this year's SEA Games rolled around, our fears and worries were gone."

He is the younger brother of many-time tennis champion Johnny Arcilla.

'So when this year's SEA Games rolled around, our fears and worries were gone.'

Apart from the singles gold, Arcilla also pocketed the men's team bronze with Mark Alcoseba, Sherwin Nuguit, Dheo Talatayod and George Patrick Mendoza.

Bien Zoleta, coming back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, teamed up with Princess Catindig for the women's doubles gold before they joined Bambi Zoleta, Fatima Amirul and Vievernica Bejosano for the gold medal of the women's team event.