Mike Miguel

Agatha Wong kicks off Philippines’ medal haul for combat sports at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

The Filipina-Chinese Wushu practitioner clinches an early gold medal in the Women’s’ Taijiquan to jumpstart the country’s campaign earlier today at the World Trade Center.

Wong, the 2017 SEA Games gold medalist, displayed grace in her routine to reign over her division with a 9.67 score. Brunei’s Basma Lachkar (9.55) barely outscored Vietnam’s Thi Minh Huyen Tran (9.53), claiming silver and bronze medals, respectively.

In the Men’s Taijiquan, Hosea Wong denied a twin-medal for the Philippine duo of Daniel Latawan and Jones Llabres. Performing last in his category, the Bruneian displayed tremendous poise to round up with 9.59 points. This bumped Latawan (9.56) into third place while Llabres (9.54) out of medal contention.

Malaysia’s Loh Choon How took the division’s top spot with a 9.68 scorecard.

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Elsewhere, the country also claimed medals in the sport of Arnis at the Angeles University Foundation in Pampanga. Nino Mark Taledo, Villardo Cunamay, Mike Banares, and Dexler Bolambao each dominated their weight class to clinch four gold medals. Estie Gay Liwanen of Kurash brought home another gold medal in the women’s under 63-kilogram bracket.

Their efforts helped the host nation to lead the overall medal tally with 20 golds, 10 silvers and 5 bronzes.