BANGKOK, Thailand --- Beauty and brawn showed the way for Team Philippines as a pair of jiu-jitsu fighters and a female gymnast delivered three gold medals in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Thursday.
Three-time world champion Kim Custodio topped the women’s ne-waza 48-kilograms, while Dean Roxas reigned in the men’s 85kg of the event at the Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Thai Air Force Academy in Saraburi.
Custodio bested home bet Sugun Nutchaya in the final, 3-0, in her debut in the biennial meet.
“So happy that all our efforts, my coaches, teammates and those who believe in me, paid off. I’m very happy,” the 38-year-old Custodio said.
Roxas followed Custodio’s gold with a quick submission victory over Singapore’s Aacus Hou Yu Ee.
“I really liked submissions from that position. I just made sure that I got my position quick so that I can capitalize on their mistakes. And I’m just waiting for him to commit a mistake and of course, who doesn’t want to finish with a submission for the country. So this one’s for Pilipinas,” said Roxas, who also won gold in the same event in the 30th edition of the Games in Manila in 2019.
Over at the Gymnasium 5 inside the Thammasat University Rangsit Campus in Pathum Thani, Aleah Finnegan captured the Philippines’ fifth gold in the vault event of the women’s artistic gymnastics.
The Filipina gymnast scored 13.433 to beat Vietnam’s Thi Quynh Nguyen (13.400) while Malaysia’s Kang Xian Yeap (12.966) took bronze.
Finnegan defended the title she won in the 2021 Hanoi edition of the biennial meet. No women’s gymnastics was staged in the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games.
The final result came a bit late as corrections were made after Nguyen was initially declared the gold medal winner.
In other gymnastics results, Haylee Garcia won silver in the uneven bars while in the men’s division, Justine Ace de Leon salvaged two bronze medals in floor exercise and still rings.
The Philippines capped Day 2 with five gold medals, five silver and 23 bronze medals in fourth spot. The official SEA Games website, however, reflected the gold medal won by Geli Bulaong, who ruled the women’s 60kg mixed martial arts — an event that is considered as demonstration sport.
Host Thailand recorded a 35-19-15 medal haul as of 8 p.m. followed by Vietnam (12-8-25), Indonesia (10-19-12) while running fifth was Singapore (5-6-10).
In the women’s jiu-jitsu duo classic, Baby Jhen Buzon and Mariane Mariano also got the bronze.
The Philippines crushed Malaysia, 6-0, to secure its ticket to the semifinals of the women’s football at the National Sports University IPE Stadium in Chonburi.
The Filipinas set up a Final Four duel with host Thailand and completed history for Philippine football by ensuring the presence of both men’s U22 and women’s side in the SEAG’s semis for the first time ever.
Boxer Jay Brian Baricuatro beat Vietnamese opponent Linh Punh Nguyen, 5-0, in the men’s 48kg quarterfinals at the Chulalongkorn University Sports Center.
With the win, Baricuatro has joined Ofelia Magno in the semifinals, assuring them of at least a bronze-medal finish in their respective weight classes.
They will join Hergie Bacyadan, Riza Pasuit, Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villegas, Eumir Marcial, and Weljon Mindoro with assured medals after drawing a bye in the first round and getting an outright semis seat.
Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 men’s squad fell short of a podium after absorbing a 19-21 loss to Malaysia in the bronze medal match at the Nimibutr Stadium.
Alas Pilipinas wasn’t as lucky either after getting swept by defending champion Thailand, 11-25, 17-25, 16-25, in Group A at the Indoor Stadium Huamark.