PH wraps up 2025 SEA Games with 277-medal haul highlighted by 50 golds

BANGKOK, Thailand – Team Philippines collected 50 golds, 73 silvers, and 154 bronzes for a total of 277 medals as the 2025 Southeast Asian Games came to a close on Saturday, December 20. 

Following a tight battle for the fifth spot with Malaysia and Singapore, the Philippines eventually finished sixth in the race for the overall championship expectedly dominated by host Thailand, which captured a SEA Games record of 233 golds to go with 154 silvers and 112 bronzes. 

Victories in basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, softball, bowling, wrestling, and modern pentathlon on the penultimate day of competition allowed the Philippines to reach the half-century mark in golds for the fourth straight SEA Games after it won 149 in its 2019 hosting, 52 in 2021 Vietnam, and 58 in 2023 Cambodia.

Gilas Pilipinas gave the country its 50th gold following its successful title defense against the hosts, who still settled for silver despite their flip-flopping on players’ eligibility rules that left the Nationals without ample practice time as they scrambled to put together a team.

“Although it pains me to say it, it was a brutal SEA Games,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino in a mix of English and Filipino, referring to the host’s handling of the Games. 

“But the Filipinos still prevailed.”

While sixth place is the Philippines’ lowest since it also finished sixth in 2017, many of its athletes made history as they ended long reigns by rival nations in various sports.

The Filipinas captured a historic women’s football crown as they ended the two-country duopoly of Thailand and Vietnam, whom they both beat on penalties in the semifinal and final, respectively.

Alas Pilipinas’ Sisi Rondina, Bernadeth Pons, Dij Rodriguez, and Sunnie Villapando broke through as well, delivering the country its first-ever women’s beach volleyball title as they dethroned eight-time champion Thailand.

In tennis, Alex Eala ended a 26-year wait for a Filipina to clinch the women’s singles gold after beating a pair of Thai opponents in her last two matches.

The Philippines also enjoyed a resurgence in centerpiece sports swimming behind the smashing SEA Games debut of Kayla Sanchez.

Sanchez earned the distinction as the most bemedalled Filipino athlete in this edition with her personal haul of three golds and five silvers as the Philippines won more than two swimming golds in a single SEA Games for the first time since 2009.

Athletics produced the most medals for the country, with five courtesy of EJ Obiena (men’s pole vault), Naomi Cesar (women’s 800m), Hussein Loraña (men’s 800m), Hokett delos Santos (men’s decathlon), and John Cabang Tolentino (men’s 110m hurdles).

The practical shooting team came in second with four golds, followed by the swimming, triathlon, and modern pentathlon squads with three each. 

Philippine Sports Commission chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio said the goal of the SEA Games is to build up Filipino athletes for the bigger stages. 

“They’re happy they were able to compete because the next generation of Olympians will come from here,” said Gregorio.

Indonesia finished a distant second behind Thailand with a 91-111-131 gold-silver-bronze harvest, followed by Vietnam (87-81-110) at third, Malaysia (57-57-117) at fourth, and Singapore (52-61-89) at fifth. – Rappler.com