The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) announced Philippines clinched as overall champion on Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
POC chairperson Steve Hontiveros stated that the other participating countries are running out of chances to strike gold in the remaining matches, while the Philippines is expected to further add to its gold tally.
“We got this. We are overall champions. Other countries don’t have much left to get gold medals from,” said Hontiveros.
Moreover, as of 10 am of today, Philippines garnered 288 medals consist of 113 golds, 86 silver and 89 bronze.
Indonesia, on the other hand, earned the next spot with 205 medals with 65 gold, 61 silver and 79 bronze. Vietnam acquired 201 medals, 64 gold 59 silver, and 78 bronze.
“This should give interest to the government and the private sector to support all the athletes in all the sports because they will realize their money won’t go to waste,” Hontiveros added.
Further, the 30th SEA Games closing ceremony will be on Wednesday night at New Clark City Athletics Stadium.
As Philippines became the overall champion on SEA Games, Philippine Sports Commission chair Butch Ramirez emphasized that the credit should go to the athletes who competed and represented the country.
He appreciated and extended his gratitude for the efforts and hardworks of the athletes that went behind pushing their chances for a shining moment of victory.
The last time the country became the overall champion on SEA Games was in 2005.
Respectively, Philstar report mentioned that being the host of the 30th SEA Games put an advantage to the Philippines as host can add countries typically hold the privilege of adding sports to the SEA Games roster.
“A number of the sports that were also played for the first time in the history of the games were events where Team Philippines earned multiple gold medals in, such as arnis, dancesport and Kurash,” report said.
Sources: https://www.philstar.com/sports/2019/12/08/1975333/philippines-closes-sea-games-overall-championship-finish
https://www.philstar.com/sports/2019/12/08/1975333/philippines-closes-sea-games-overall-championship-finish