By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Pole vault ace EJ Obiena and gymnast Carlos Yulo showed once again why they’re regarded as world class athletes.
Braving a rainy afternoon after a hot condition early Monday, May 8, Obiena clinched the gold medal in record-shattering performance and Yulo won the individual all-around gold as they sparked the Philippines five-gold haul in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games here.
Fired up after an hour of delay due to torrential rains at the Morodok Techo Stadium, Obiena reset his SEAG mark thrice, first at 5.55 meters then at 5.60 meters and finally at 5.65 meters.
His previous mark was 5.46m which he made in the previous edition in Vietnam last year.
The wet condition made Obiena’s victory more impressive.
“We don’t like it, but it happens,” said Obiena. “But this is tough. This is a different kind of challenge for sure.”
The two-time world champion Yulo dazzled the crowd and awed his challengers at the National Olympic Stadium by winning the men’s individual all-around gold by almost 4 points – a large margin by any standard.
He tallied a whopping 84 points to outclass Thanh Thung Le (80.450) and Phuong Thanh Dinh (78.150), both from Vietnam.
As expected, Yulo was at his best on his vault performance where he scored 15.00, followed by parallel bars (14.95), floor exercise (14.35), rings (14.15), horizontal bar (12.9) and pommel horse (12.65).
Yulo also anchored the PH crew to a silver finish in the men’s team event with a total score of 305.25 points behind eventual gold winner Vietnam (313).
“Sobrang saya ko po kasi two weeks lang ang preparation ko para makumpleto ko ang gagawin ko,” said Yulo.
Not far from the athletics field, Xiandi Chua also broke the national and SEAG record en route to clinching the gold medal in the women’s 200m backstroke.
Chua timed 2:13.20 to reset her own national mark of 2:14.96 she registered at the Australian Championships last April, as well as the SEAG record of Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Anh Vien of 2:13.94 in the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur.
It was a great 1-2 finish for Team PH as she edged out and dethroned Chloe Isleta (2:16.19)
Earlier in Kep, Fil-Spaniard Casares clocked 58 minutes and 33.5 seconds to outshine his rivals and rule the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5km run men’s triathlon race.
Indonesian Rashif Amila Yaqin timed 58:47.7 for the silver while Casares’ teammate Andrew Kim Remolino bagged the bronze in 59:55.5.
At the Chroy Changvar Convention Center, Robin Catalan made heads turn by dominating the men’s combat 50kg division in kun bokator.
As of 8 p.m., Team PH has 19 gold, 23 silver and 26 bronze medals for third place.
Of course host Cambodia still leads the overall medal tally with 34 gold, 28 silver and 31 bronzes, followed by Thailand (22-18-29).
In cycling, Ariana Evangelista pedaled her way to a silver finish in the women’s mountain bike race set against backdrop of the famous Angkor Wat in Siem Riep.
Evangelista finished behind Dara Latifah of Indonesia, who clinched the gold medal.
Another heartbreaker hit karateka Junna Tsukii and company – Jamie Lim, Remon Misu and Arianne Brito – as they settled for silver in team event, losing to Vietnam in the finals.
Kun Bokator also delivered bronze medals in the women’s single phak form (Mitz Jude Jalandoni), women’s bare hands team trio (Shara Jizmundo, Jessa Dela Cruz, Angel Derla), and the men’s bare hands team trio (Zandro Fred Jizmundo, James Mayagma, Rick Ortega).
At the Aeon Mall, Johann Chua failed in his bid to keep his men’s 9-ball singles title in billiards after yielding to Myanmar’s Phone Myint Kyaw in a hill-hill battle, 9-8, in the Round of 16.
Late in Sunday, May 7, the Sibol national team reigned supreme in the League of Legends: Wild Rift (Mobile) Mixed Team event with a 3-1 victory over Vietnam at the Nagaworld: Olympia Mall.
