Camille Naredo

Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena receives his gold medal in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games. POC Media

Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena receives his gold medal in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.

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2025 Southeast Asian Games

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1766066723400R6M25340.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena receives his gold medal in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games. POC Media" width="960"/>Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena receives his gold medal in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games. POC Media</div>EJ Obiena&#x27;s record-breaking performance capped a superb campaign for the Philippine track and field team in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.The team, composed of 61 athletes, wrapped up the biennial showcase with an impressive haul of five golds, seven silvers, and 19 bronze medals at the conclusion of the competitions at the Suphachalasai National Stadium.The headlines rightfully belonged to Obiena, who rebuffed a tremendous challenge from a hometown bet to win his fourth SEA Games gold medal in pole vault.<div><a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/12/16/seag-ej-obiena-sets-new-record-en-route-to-another-pole-vault-gold-1922">READ: EJ Obiena sets new record en route to another pole vault gold</a></div>Obiena, a two-time Olympian, out local favorite Amsamarng Patsapong, winning with a new meet record of 5.70 meters. Both athletes cleared the height, but Obiena needed just one try to the Thai&#x27;s three.&quot;I&#x27;m happy, but that was a little bit too close for comfort,&quot; said Obiena. &quot;I came here to win, and that&#x27;s exactly what I did. I love to see that the level is getting higher... and at the same time, I have a job to do.&quot;Obiena shared the spotlight with Elijah Cole, whose clearance of 5.20-m was good for bronze.Other Filipino athletes also fueled the Philippines&#x27; drive for gold medals, with hurdler <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/12/12/seag-tolentino-s-record-breaking-run-leads-to-gold-in-110m-hurdles-2112">John Cabang Tolentino</a>, decathlete <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/12/12/seag-hokett-delos-santos-bucks-injury-issues-to-deliver-decathlon-gold-2040">Hokett Delos Santos</a>, and middle-distance runners <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/12/15/hussein-lora-a-rules-men-s-800m-in-sea-games-debut-2050">Hussein Loraña</a> and <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/12/15/seag-naomi-cesar-wins-800m-gold-bejoy-takes-bronze-2203">Naomi Marjorie Cesar</a> topping their respective events.Cabang&#x27;s impressive performance in the men&#x27;s 110m hurdles earned him the country&#x27;s first athletics gold of the event, setting a new competition record with a time of 13.66 seconds. He surpassed the previous record of 13.69 seconds set by Thailand&#x27;s Jamras Rittidet during the 2015 SEA Games.&quot;I&#x27;m super happy to raise the flag on the top of the podium for the Philippines,&quot; said Cabang. &quot;This victory means a lot to me, especially after my bronze medal finish in Cambodia.&quot;Delos Santos, a rising star from UST, also made headlines by amassing 6,917 points over ten events to claim the men&#x27;s decathlon title. Nicknamed the &quot;Rocket,&quot; he edged out Thailand&#x27;s Singkhon Suttisak, who took silver with 6,649 points, and Indonesia&#x27;s Richsan Idan Fauzan, who earned bronze with 6,582 points.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1766066806617Cesar Naomi Marjorie Bejoy Bernalyn.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Naomi Cesar and Bernalyn Bejoy celebrate after winning gold and bronze, respectively, in the women&#x27;s 800-m event in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games. POC Media" width="960"/>Naomi Cesar and Bernalyn Bejoy celebrate after winning gold and bronze, respectively, in the women&#x27;s 800-m event in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games. POC MediaThree days later, Loraña and Cesar marked their territory in the 800-meter runs, adding to the Philippines&#x27; medal tally and highlighting the team&#x27;s collective strength.</div>For PATAFA secretary-general Jasper Tanhueco, their athletes&#x27; performance serves as motivation to go further in future competitions.&quot;We win some, we lose some, but we definitely learn from it. We have many rising stars, and the future of Philippine athletics looks promising,&quot; he said. &quot;Our president, Mr. Terry Capistrano, is dedicated to providing the resources necessary for our athletes to excel.&quot;Overall, the Philippines finished fourth in the medal standings, trailing behind Thailand (13-13-4), Vietnam (12-12-11), and Indonesia (9-5-7). Malaysia rounded out the top five with a tally of 5-4-6.

EJ Obiena's record-breaking performance capped a superb campaign for the Philippine track and field team in the #2025SEAGames in Bangkok, Thailand.

EJ Obiena's record-breaking performance capped a superb campaign for the Philippine track and field team in the #2025SEAGames in Bangkok, Thailand.

SEAG: EJ Obiena leads way as PH athletics team delivers 5 golds

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SEAG: EJ Obiena leads way as PH athletics team delivers 5 golds

ABS-CBN News

Published December 18, 2025 10:09 PM PHT

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Naomi Cesar and Bernalyn Bejoy celebrate after winning gold and bronze

respectively

in the women's 800-m event in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games. POC Media

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