BANGKOK – Three more gold medals were added to the tally of the Philippines on the third day of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
Jiu-jitsu athletes Kimberly Custodio and Dean Michael Roxas delivered two gold medals in the ne-waza event at the Royal Thai Airforce Academy on Thursday.
Custodio, a three-time JJIF World Champion, was the first to strike gold for the Philippines in her debut in the regional showcase.
She took down Thailand's Sugun Nutchaya in the final for the women's 48kg ne-waza event, after scoring three crucial points in the final seconds of the match.
"Sobrang nakakatuwa kasi first time ko mag-move up ng weight division. Sabi ko nga sa’yo hindi ako nag-expect manalo . Pero sa awa ng diyos at work hard ng coaches ko at teammates ko nagbunga din," Custodio told POC Media after her win.
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After adding another feather to her cap, the 38-year-old said she still has a lot of things she wants to achieve.
"Gusto ko pang maging champion sa AIMAG and also Asian Games. But then yung pinaka ultimate goal ko talaga is yung mga students ko makarating sa narating ko ngayon at ma-feel nila yung na-fefeel kong joy," Custodio said.
Roxas won gold in the men's 85kg ne-waza event, repeating his triumph in 2019.
"I went through a lot this year. You know, I got injured in Japan like three weeks, almost three weeks ago. So I thought I wasn't going to compete," he shared.
"Grateful to be here. Grateful to just, you know, soak in the moment. Represent the country and get another gold for Philippines," Roxas added.
Jiu-jitsu athletes Kaila Napolis, Marc Lim and Vito Luzuriaga also clinched bronze in their respective ne-waza weight class.
Another bronze was delivered by the duo of Baby Jhen Buzon and Mariane Mariano in the women's duo classic, bringing the jiu-jitsu team's haul to a total of eight.
Paris Olympian Aleah Finnegan successfully defended her vault title in women's artistic gymnastics at the Thammasat University Rangsit Campus.
Following recomputation of scores and initial confusion, Finnegan received 13.433 points (13.7 in her first vault, 12.76 in the second) with a bonus of 0.200.
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"All I wanted to do was hit a clean vault.. I’m just bit a emotional still, it's finally settling in. It didn't hit me until I got on the podium, where they officially announced it. I'm just so overjoyed and thankful with the support," she said.
During the wait, Finnegan said she was satisfied but wanted to get clarification.
"They actually flashed a wrong score on the screen, just for a second... It was a bit confusing and very stressful but overall I'm thankful for the outcome," she said.
Finnegan last won gold in the 2021 SEA Games, but was unable to defend her title due to the event being scrapped in the 2023 edition.
The Olympian said she will take the gold as motivation as she next competes in the balance beam final on Friday.
Haylee Garcia clinched silver in uneven bars, pushing the Philippines' tally to seven.
"This competition is a hit different for me since I’m not doing all-around. So just trying to shift all my focus into bars has paid really off so I’m really happy," she said.
Taekwondo jins Clarence Sarza copped silver in the kyorugi women's -46 kg event, while Olympian Kurt Barbosa bagged bronze in the kyorugi men's -54 kg event.
The Philippines is currently fifth in the latest medal tally with five golds, seven silvers and 21 bronzes.
Angeli Bulaong won gold for the country in demo sport mixed martial arts (MMA) women's modern 60kg event.
Demo sports are not counted in official medal tally in multi-sport events.