On the move

BANGKOK, Thailand — Triathletes competing two hours away from the capital, a pair of pint-sized muay fighters, a pentathlete and a group of esports stars took front and center in Team Philippines’ productive gold medal fishing expedition in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games here.

Day 8 saw the Filipinos make a strong push in collecting mints, with six gold finishes highlighted by a three-relay event sweep in the triathlon competition held at the warm and relaxing beachside of Laem Mae Phim, Klaeng district in Rayong.

The women’s trio of Kira Ellis, Kim Mangrobang and Raven Alcoseba started the day with a golden finish, clocking in one hour, 10 minutes and 14 seconds to beat silver medalist Indonesia (1:10:48) and Singapore (1:12:00).

Taking inspiration from their female counterparts, Aki Lorbes, Matthew Hermosa and Fernando Casares topped the men’s division with a 1:04:05 finish ahead of Singapore (1:04:15) and Indonesia (1:04:35).

In the afternoon’s mixed relay race, Ellis, Caseres, Alcoseba and Andrew Remolino teamed up to complete the sweep with a 1:30:31 finish for the top podium, beating Indonesia (1:30:35) and Malaysia (1:33:49).

Not to be outdone, Pinay muay fighter Islay Erika Bomogao defeated crowd darling Arissara Noon-Eiad by a hairline, 29-28, in the women’s -45kg class final at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

“Super happy I won versus the host country. My opponent is a superstar here. So it feels so nice to finally beat someone at that level,” said Bomogao after winning her first combat muay mint following her waikru (form) mint in the previous edition.  

LJ Rafael Yasay followed suit with knockout win in the men’s muay -51kg category.

He stopped Malaysian Insyad Rumijan with a mid-section kick in the second round, a sort of revenge for compatriot Tyrone Jamborillo’s referee stoppage loss to Thai Kritanu Saladkaew.

Sibol, on the other hand, remained as king of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang for the fourth straight edition of the Games.

The crew of Sanford Vinuya, Kiel Soriano, Karl Nepomuceno, Jaypee Dela Cruz, Alston Pabico and John Carlo Roma completed a sweet sweep of Malaysia, 4-0, in the gold medal match at the Chulalongkorn University Book Center.

Sibol took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series before it essayed a thrilling Game 3 comeback, which zapped the fight out of the demoralized Malaysians.

Sibol trailed by as many as six thousand in golds and the 1-12 in kill score but managed to turn the tables around behind a bottom lane clash that saw them pick off three heroes from the Malaysian side.

That set up the huge counter-attack for Sibol to take the third game and eventually the series following a masterful Game 4 triumph.

Before the day ended, Melvin Sacay added to the Philippines’ coffers with a gold in the laser-run men’s individual event of modern pentathlon with a clocking of 10:41 at Jomtien Beach in Pattaya City, Chonburi.  

The seven-gold collection hiked Team Philippines’ gold-silver-bronze medal haul to 36-49-117, good for fifth spot as of 7 p.m.

The host country is just waiting for the Games to close on Saturday to formalize its general championship after a 177-116-76 medal tally on Wednesday.

Indonesia collected 71-82-84 in far second followed by Vietnam (64-65-91) and Singapore (43-42-56).    

Meanwhile, boxer Eumir Marcial advanced to the men’s 80kg. gold medal match after knocking out Vietnamese Nguyen Manh Chong in the second round with a vicious right hook to the temple at the Chulalongkorn University Sports Center.