All the Records Filipino Athletes Have Broken at This Year's SEA Games

The Philippine team just ended its campaign at the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held from December 9 to 20 in Bangkok and Chonburi. This is a full-circle moment for the Thai capital, where the first-ever SEA Games was founded in 1959 (when it was still called the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games).

Thailand dominated with 499 medals (233 gold, 154 silver, and 112 bronze), which does not come as a surprise, as this always happens whenever a country hosts the multi-sport event. One home-court advantage is that—unlike the Olympics, available events for the biennial competition are traditionally decided upon by the host country, giving them the leeway to choose sports they're likely to reap gold medals. Some amendments were implemented in this edition in an effort to standardize the regional competition, but the host country may still propose a maximum of four additional sports. Not to mention being able to field more athletes without the issue of logistics.

The Filipino athletes went home with 50 gold medals, 73 silver medals, and 154 bronze medals, for a total of 277, ultimately putting the nation's 2025 SEA Games ranking at number six. The Philippines also had the most number of bronze medals among the 10 competing nations. While our ranking is a step down from the 2023 edition (even with our largest delegation in history), the athletes' campaign was defined by first-ever golds, historic podiums, and reign-ending wins. It was a tireless display of resilience and grit—especially given the controversies that seemed to follow the event (as they so often do).

We round up the milestones of the Philippine team at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.

2025 has been an incredible year for Alex Eala, who reached a career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 50 (as of November 3, 2025), making her the highest-ranked Filipino tennis player. In March, she competed at the Miami Open, and became the first wildcard in history to defeat three major champions in straight sets: 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys, and five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek.

Then, she capped off the year atop the 2025 SEA Games podium after beating Thai athlete Mananchaya Sawangkaew, becoming the first Filipina singles player to win a Southeast Asian Games gold medal in 26 years, following in the footsteps of Pia Tamayo (1981) and Maricris Fernandez (1999).

Eala, who was Team Philippines' flag bearer during the Games' opening ceremony, also bagged bronze medals in the women’s team and mixed doubles events.

Pole vaulter Ernest John Uy Obiena bagged his fourth consecutive SEA Games gold as he cleared 5.70 meters, breaking the SEA Games record of 5.65 that he set at the 2023 SEA Games. It was "too close for comfort," according to the Filipino athlete in an interview, after winning via countback as his rival, Thailand’s Amsamang Patsapong, also cleared 5.70 meters, but only after two failed attempts. (Not to be missed, of course, is Obiena's quirky pair of socks for the Games.)

Elijah Cole, who's also representing the Philippine flag, cleared 5.20 meters and snagged the bronze medal.

The beach volleyball team of Alas Pilipinas dethroned Thailand, the reigning champion with eight titles since beach volleyball was introduced at the SEA Games in 2003. This also became the Philippines' first SEA Games volleyball title, in both the beach and indoor categories, in 32 years (with the last podium finish being the women's indoor team's gold in 1993).

SEA Games medalists Sisi Rondina, Bernadeth Pons, and Dij Rodriguez, who won back-to-back bronze medals in 2019 and 2021, were joined by newcomer Sunny Villapando.

Eleven-year-old Mazel Paris Alegado made a mark by winning gold in the Skateboarding Women's Park event, becoming the youngest Filipino gold medalist in SEA Games history. This was her first time to participate in the Southeast Asian competition, but she already competed in skateboarding as the youngest athlete across all events at the 2023 Asian Games.

Four decades after its debut appearance, the Philippines finally won its first women's football gold medal at the SEA Games after defeating four-time title-holder Vietnam in the finals. The Filipinas, the name of the women's national football team, also became the third team to win the SEAG gold ever, ending the duopoly of Thailand and Vietnam.

The national team finished fourth in 1995, 2005, 2017, and 2019, and finally got a bronze in 2021—a huge comeback since the country secured third place in 1985.

Naomi Marjorie Cesar, at the age of 16, denied the gold medal from 2023 women’s 800-meter run champion Nguyen Thi Thu Ha. She's a second-generation athlete, with her father part of the 1991 SEA Games as a sprinter. Naomi is also the younger sister of Malea of the gold-medal-winning football team.

Cesar is joined on the podium by Bernalyn Bejoy, who took home the bronze medal. Hussein Loraña won gold for the Philippines in the men's 800m category in his SEA Games debut.

Filipino hurdler and sprinter John Christopher Cabang Tolentino clocked 13.66 seconds in the 110m hurdles, a record previously held by Thailand's Jamras Rittidet (2015, 13.69 seconds).

Overall, the Philippines has five golds, seven silvers, and 19 bronzes (for a total of 31) in the athletics events.

Flying disc (a.k.a. Ultimate Frisbee, Ultimate) may just be a demo sport in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (thus not being counted in the country's medal tally), but a gold medal is a gold medal. They clinched the throne after a 9-7 victory versus Singapore, highlighting the sport at the Games.

The first-ever gold medal for the Philippines in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay was won by Kayla Sanchez, Heather White, Chloe Isleta, and Xiandi Chua, ending Singapore's dominance and marking a historic win for the country. The team clocked 3:44.26, setting a new national record and securing the Philippines' first gold in this event since joining the Games in 1977.

Individually, Kayla Sanchez won two golds in 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke and three silvers in 200m freestyle, 50m backstroke, and 50m freestyle; Heather White won silver in 100m freestyle and bronze in 50m freestyle; Xiandi Chua won silver in 200m backstroke; and Miranda Cristina Renner won silver in 50m butterfly. Collectively, they bagged two silver medals in the 4x200m freestyle relay team and 4x100m medley relay team.

They also set two other national records: 8:11.54 in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay and 4:09.33 in the women's 4x100m medley relay.

Miranda Renner, born to a Boholano mother and an American father, claimed the Philippines' first-ever silver medal in the 50m butterfly event, where she also established a new national record of 26.93.

In the men's division, Logan Noguchi set a new national record of 22.55 in the 50m freestyle, where he finished fourth.

Kayla Sanchez probably has the heaviest bag among the Filipino delegates upon coming home from Thailand. She won two golds in 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke and three silvers in 200m freestyle, 50m backstroke, and 50m freestyle; then, along with her team, won one gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay and two silver medals in the 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay. That's a total of eight.

Sanchez also broke the national record for 50m freestyle after clocking 25.15 and for 50m backstroke after clocking 28.47.

She has previously represented Canada as part of its national team from 2017 to 2022. They won their first silver at the World Championships in Sanchez' last year there.

The men's and women's national basketball teams bagged the gold medal after they both beat Thailand's national teams. Gilas Pilipinas - Men's gold medal count at the SEA Games is now at 20, dominating all the other nations. Gilas Pilipinas - Women's gold medal count is now at three, after winning in 2019 and 2021 (before the 2025 title).

After not being held in the 2021 and 2023 editions of the SEA Games, the ice hockey event returned this year. It was also the first time that the women's tournament was part of the Games; and in their debut appearance, the Philippine women’s ice hockey team nabbed the silver medal after a final showdown against Thailand.

The Philippines won bronze in hockey 5s men's team, hockey 5s women's team, and ice hockey men's team.

Sofielle Prajati Dela Cruz took home the bronze medal for sports climbing women's bouldering. The fourteen-year-old was the youngest among the event's 16 participants.

In speed climbing, another event, Dela Cruz set the national record of 9.390 seconds, although it wasn't enough to place her on the podium.

For the first time, Team Philippines sent off a full team for the practical shooting event at the 2025 SEA Games. It obviously paid off as Rolly Nathaniel Tecson (practical shooting men's standard individual), Edcel John Gino (practical shooting men's production optic individual), Genesis Pible (practical shooting women's production optic individual), and Erin Mattea Micor (practical shooting women's open individual) won one gold each.

Their other members won silver: Evelyn Woods for practical shooting women's production individual; and bronze: Gerard Loy for practical shooting men's open individual, Aeron John Lanuza for practical shooting men's production individual, and Stefanie Kathrene Lee for practical shooting women's standard individual. This means that the team won a piece of metal in all practical shooting categories.

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