Winning more gold medals from the previous edition is a mission accomplished for Team Philippines that saw action in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino on Wednesday lauded the performance of the athletes, saying that winning a total of 58 gold medals is a solid achievement for the squad that won only 52 mints in the previous staging of the Games in Hanoi.
The battle that greeted the Filipinos in Cambodia was not as easy as that in Hanoi.
The Cambodians, for one, tweaked the norms by limiting the participation of other members countries in sports where they don't have strong chances of winning.
Aside from that, they brought in an army of naturalized players, who made sure that the host country will not be left behind in the race for the overall title.
As a result, the Cambodians, who never figured strongly in the past, finished with 81 gold, 74 silver and 127 bronze medals while Vietnam (136-105-114) defended its overall title while Thailand (108-96-108) and Indonesia (87-80-109) finished in the second and third places, respectively.
The Filipinos, for their part, harvested 58 gold, 85 silver and 117 bronze for a fifth-place finish, one rung from its fourth-place performance in Hanoi last year.
Still, Tolentino insisted that the number of gold medals should be the basis of success in the regional meet that officially came to a close on Wednesday night.
"The medal haul will speak for itself," said Tolentino, who boosted the morale of Team Philippines by watching the games from start to finish.
Tolentino added that there should be changes with how the sports are being selected.
"We already set the standard but it will always boil down to the host's preference," Tolentino told a small group of sportswriters before boarding the flight back to Manila on Tuesday.
"We will try. I cannot always be a bad boy during meetings. You have to have the support from other countries. Even if you deliver a speech for 10 hours, everybody would just say 'noted' and move on."
Tolentino, however, asserted that the important thing is that his projection was met and the most important gold medal for the Filipinos – the men's basketball title – is back to where it belongs.
"The important thing is we surpassed the medal haul last SEA Games and we have reclaimed basketball supremacy in the region," he said.
A pre-games favorite with a lineup heavily reinforced by American players, Cambodia fell short of expectations in the men's basketball final with Gilas Pilipinas booking a methodical 80-69 victory over the hosts to bring the gold back home after getting humiliated by Indonesia in Hanoi also in May last year.
Tolentino said he and the POC have all the reasons to continue profusely supporting Filipino athletes.
"I will continue to be steadfast in supporting our athletes, sports officials and Philippine sports development in general," he said.
"The 32nd SEA Games has once again proven the Filipino brand of sportsmanship and athletic talent. Team Philippines made the nation proud, and our athletes, with all heart and spirit, fought well and hard, and this is all what matters?"
Thailand will host the 33rd SEA Games back to the traditional odd number year schedule in 2025 in Bangkok and Chonburi.