January 2, 2026
MANILA – Despite finishing sixth in the overall medal race, Team Philippines’ athletes showed they’re built for the world stage.
The Philippines had the second-highest percentage of gold medals from sports played in the Olympics in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, according to vnexpress.net, a Vietnamese online news outlet.
A total of 70.37 percent of the country’s 50 gold medals in the recent SEA Games came from the Olympic sports despite ending up in sixth place with 73 silver and 154 bronze medals. Singapore (70.59%) topped the list.
The Philippines won five golds from athletics, three courtesy of Olympian swimmer Kayla Sanchez, three from gymnastics, triathlon, and modern pentathlon.
The Filipinos also claimed historic wins in women’s football, men’s baseball, tennis, beach volleyball, and rising star Alex Eala in women’s singles. The country got two golds as well from basketball, judo, skateboarding, softball, and taekwondo and one gold each in rowing, sailing, short-track speed skating, weightlifting, and wrestling.
It could have been a higher percentage if boxing, a traditional gold mine for the Philippines, wasn’t limited to just one gold medal from Eumir Marcial, after host Thailand won 14 of 17 categories. Double Paris Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo also missed the biennial meet after the host restricted gymnasts to just one apparatus.
Singapore, which is tied with the Philippines for the most golds in the sports played on the global stage, finished fifth overall with 52 golds, 61 silvers, and 87 bronzes, including 20 in aquatics.
Thailand, which dominated the overall standings with 233 golds, 154 silvers, and 113 bronzes, was only fourth in the Olympic sports with 64 percent.
Indonesia was third after Singapore and the Philippines with 65 percent. Malaysia was fifth (57 percent), followed by Vietnam (51.85 percent).