Team Phl shines bright in December

On the hard courts, the pool, the mat, the diamond, the pitch, the ring, the sands or even the ice rink, members of Team Philippines delivered in the 33rd Southeast Asian  (SEA) Games in Thailand.

The 1,200-strong contingent collared 50 gold medals spiked by milestones and epic triumphs amid tremendous odds that went with 73 silvers and 154 bronzes in the different battlefronts in Metro Bangkok and neighboring provinces of Chonburi and Rayong.

For flying the flag high and winning events closest to the Filipinos’ heart as well as those considered as long-time strongholds of host Thailand and regional powers like Vietnam and Singapore, the gritty Philippine SEAG crew earned the nod as the Philippine Sportswriters Association’s top achievers for December 2025.

Anchoring this bountiful harvest was Kayla Sanchez, who made waves on her SEA Games debut with three mints and five silvers, highlighting her brilliance with the Philippines' historic triumph in the 4x100meter freestyle relay.

EJ Obiena, who won a four-peat in pole vault in record fashion, and Naomi Cesar, the 16-year-old 800m princess, led a five-gold, seven-silver, 19-bronze take for the athletics team — the best-performing group that scooped up their sport’s  largest medal haul (31) since snaring 32 back in 1983.

Practical shooters led by world champion Rolly Tecson gunned down four golds, five silvers and five bronzes, while Sanchez and other Filipino swimmers accounted for 3-9-2, the modern pentathlon aces delivered 3-3-1, the triathletes bannered by double-gold and triple-silver earner Kira Ellis produced 3-5-2 despite bouts with food poisoning, and the gymnasts, holding the fort sans golden boy Carlos Yulo, netted 3-2-7.

Gilas Pilipinas Men overcame off-court and on-court maneuverings by the hosts to retain the beloved 5-on-5 gold, while their female counterparts regained the title, also at the Thais’ expense.

The Philippine Blu Boys and Blu Girls swept the mints in softball’s SEAG return while the Pinoy batters swung big and dominated baseball yet again.