PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Carlos Yulo and EJ Obiena defended their gymnastics and pole vault titles to banner the Philippines' five-gold haul Monday, May 8, in the 32^nd Southeast Asian Games here. *EJ Obiena is now a three-time SEA Games champion. (SEA Games media pool)*


The two-time world champion Yulo dazzled the crowd at the National Olympic Stadium by winning the men’s individual all-around gold with 84 points ahead of silver medalist Thanh Thung Le (80.450) and Phuong Thanh Dinh (78.150), both from Vietnam. He banked on his vault performance where he scored 15.00, followed by parallel bars (14.95), floor exercise (14.35), rings (14.15), horizontal bar (12.9) and pommel horse (12.65). Yulo also anchored the PH crew to a silver finish in the men’s team event with a total score of 305.25 points behind eventual gold winner Vietnam (313). “Sobrang saya ko po kasi two weeks lang ang preparation ko para makumpleto ko ang gagawin ko,” said Yulo. At the Morodok Techo Stadium, Obiena reset his SEAG mark by clearing 5.65m under rainy conditions on his way to his third straight gold medal. His previous mark was 5.46m he made in the previous edition in Vietnam last year. “We don’t like it, but it happens,” said Obiena of the rainy conditions. “But this is tough. This is a different kind of challenge for sure." Not far from the athletics field, Xiandi Chua also broke the national and SEAG record en route to clinching the gold medal in the women’s 200m backstroke in swimming. Chua timed 2:13.20 to reset her own national mark of 2:14.96 she registered at the Australian Championships last April, as well as the SEAG record of Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Anh Vien of 2:13.94 in the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur. Her efforts also dethroned teammate Chloe Isleta, who settled for silver in 2:16.19. Earlier in Kep, Fil-Spaniard Fer Casares clocked 58 minutes and 33.5 seconds to outshine his rivals and rule the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5km run in men’s triathlon. Indonesian Rashif Amila Yaqin timed 58:47.7 for the silver while Casares’ teammate Andrew Kim Remolino bagged the bronze in 59:55.5. At the Chroy Changvar Convention Center, Robin Catalan made heads turn by dominating the men’s combat 50kg division in kun bokator. As of 8 p.m., Team PH has 19 gold, 23 silver and 26 bronze medals at third place. Host Cambodia currently leads the overall medal tally with 34 gold, 28 silver and 31 bronzes, followed by Thailand (22-18-29). In cycling, Ariana Evangelista pedaled her way to the silver medal in the women’s mountain bike race set against the famous Angkor Wat in Siem Riep. Evangelista finished behind Dara Latifah of Indonesia, who clinched the gold medal. The women’s team kumite of Junna Tsukii, Jamie Lim, Remon Misu and Arianne Brito also settled for the silver in karate after losing to Vietnam. Kun Bokator also delivered bronze medals in the women’s single phak form (Mitz Jude Jalandoni), women’s bare hands team trio (Shara Jizmundo, Jessa Dela Cruz, Angel Derla), and the men’s bare hands team trio (Zandro Fred Jizmundo, James Mayagma, Rick Ortega). At the Aeon Mall, Johann Chua failed in his bid to keep his men’s 9-ball singles title in billiards after yielding to Myanmar’s Phone Myint Kyaw in a hill-hill battle, 9-8, in the Round of 16. Late in Sunday, May 7, the Sibol national team reigned supreme in the League of Legends: Wild Rift (Mobile) Mixed Team event with a 3-1 victory over Vietnam at the Nagaworld: Olympia Mall.