The Philippines picked up three more gold medals on the 2nd day of the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos to remain within sight of its target to improve its worst-ever sixth place finish two years ago.
Taekwondo jins Marie Antoinette Rivero and Alex Briones and swimmer Miguel Molina scored for the Philippines by winning the gold in their respective events. Two-time Olympian Rivero outpointed Nguyen Thi Dong of Vietnam, 2-1, in the women’s welterweight finals while Briones demolished the taller Sorn Elit of Cambodia, 3-0, in men’s heavyweight.
Molina, the best male athlete of the 2007 Games, picked up the first of his four-gold medal target and stalled Singapore’s dominant performance in swimming. Singapore won five golds, including one against Ryan Arabejo in the 200-m backstroke where the Filipino was the defending titlist.
The long-haired Fil-Am swimmer from University of California Berkeley clocked four minutes 27 seconds in the 400-meter individual medley to edge Thai Nuttapong Ketin by .57 seconds.
Singapore, a tiny city state with a population of five million, is amazingly at the top of the 11-nation pack with 11 gold medals, followed by Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The Filipinos suffered a major blow in billiards, with World Cup champions Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante losing to the Thai tandem of Surathep Phoochalam and Nitiwat Kanjanasri in the 9-ball doubles.
Asked what happened, Reyes scratched his head and said “I don’t know.”
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