The country’s sports heroes kicked off 2025 with history-making campaigns and podium finishes.

Leading the fiery opening salvo was the Philippine women’s lacrosse team, which defied the odds and captured the bronze medal in the Asia-Pacific Women’s Championship in Queensland, Australia on its way to next year’s World Championship in Japan.

The underdog Filipinas put the sweetener on top of their breakthrough qualification to the world meet with an 18-6 demolition of Chinese-Taipei for the country’s first-ever field lacrosse medal and first-ever women’s medal.

For this feat, the lacrosse belles earned the honor as the Philippine Sportswriters Association’s top achiever for January.

Also shining bright at the start of the year were wakeboarder Raphael Trinidad, Olympian pole vaulter EJ Obiena, pickleball player Anna Clarice Patrimonio, the women’s futsal team, golfer Rianne Malixi and the para bowlers Jaime Manginga, Augusto Hernandez, Kim Ian Chi and Samuel Matias.

Trinidad reigned supreme in the men’s open category with 81.67 points in the IWWF Asia and Oceania Cable Wakeboard and Wakeskate Championships in Angeles, Pampanga as he also qualified for the World Games.

The pride of Liloan, Cebu showed the way as the Philippines emerged overall champion with a five-gold, seven-silver, six-bronze harvest.

World No. 4 Obiena took runner-up honors in the International Jump Meet Cottbus in Germany with 5.65 meters behind American winner Sam Kendricks (5.75m).

Patrimonio, daughter of Philippine Basketball Association legend Alvin Patrimonio, carted two medals at the 2025 World Pickleball Championship in Hoiana, Vietnam, topping the women’s singles and snaring the bronze in the mixed doubles.

Though she fell short of retaining the crown, Malixi secured a top three finish in the Australian Master of the Amateurs at 289 behind winner Hyojin Yang of Korea (286) and Ella Scaysbrook of Australia (288).

The futsal aces also carved their names in the record books by securing a breakthrough stint in 2025 AFC Women’s Futsal Cup after finishing as the third-best team in the Qualifiers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan with four points.

Manginga and Hernandez collared a bronze in the men’’s doubles TPB8 class as Kim Ian Chi and Samuel Matias duplicated the feat in the TPB10 category as they ensured the country’s place in the medal tally.