MANILA – The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) is ending 2025 on a high and heading into 2026 with even bigger ambitions.
POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said Filipino athletes delivered more than enough reason for optimism, pointing to a year defined not just by medals, but by wins in sports that truly matter on the global stage.
“There will be more competitions overseas and more historic achievements to come for Team Philippines in 2026,” Tolentino said, fresh from a campaign that underscored the country’s growing strength in Olympic disciplines.
Tolentino drew particular pride from Team Philippines’ performance in the recently-concluded 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
While the country finished sixth overall with 50 gold medals, he stressed that the medals came largely from Olympic sports, an indicator, he said, of long-term international competitiveness.
“Those are what mattered the most, the gold medals from Olympic sports,” Tolentino said.
A Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) analysis, citing Vietnamese outlet vnexpress.net, showed that the Philippines tied Singapore for the highest percentage of gold medals won in Olympic sports among the 11 participating nations.
Singapore placed fifth overall with 52 golds, 20 of them from aquatics, while the Philippines collected Olympic golds in athletics (five), swimming (three), gymnastics (three), triathlon (three), and modern pentathlon (three).
Filipino athletes also struck gold in women’s football, men’s baseball, tennis through Alex Eala, beach volleyball, basketball (two), judo (two), skateboarding (two), softball (two), taekwondo (two), rowing, sailing, short-track speed skating, weightlifting, and wrestling.
Thailand topped the medal table with 233 golds, but in Olympic events, it ranked fifth with a 64-percent share, behind Indonesia and Singapore at 65 percent.
“And that’s where many of the points are—the Olympic goal,” Tolentino said.
Behind the momentum, Tolentino credited improved coordination with government sports agencies.
“Now, we’re working together with the PSC [Philippine Sports Commission] in a harmonious way,” he said.
The upward trajectory, he added, extends beyond the SEA Games.
Team Philippines bagged seven gold medals at the Bahrain Asian Youth Games, two silvers and two bronzes at the Chengdu World Games and made history at the Ninth Asian Winter Games in Harbin with a men’s curling gold.
“That made us,” Tolentino said, referring to the Harbin triumph, “the first in an international winter sports competition not only by the Philippines but for Southeast Asia.”
Looking ahead, Tolentino acknowledged a packed and demanding calendar: the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics from Feb. 6 to 22, Sanya Asian Beach Games from April 22 to 30 and Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games in Japan from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 next year.
“It will be challenging this time as we will be competing in three Asian multi-sports events and we have also the Milano Winter Games and then the Youth Olympic Games,” he said.
“Our athletes and national sports associations are improving every year and I’m so happy to see that.”
The schedule also includes the Dakar Youth Olympic Games from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, the first Olympic Games to be staged in Africa, and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Riyadh.
For Tolentino, the mission is clear and unwavering.
“All for the Filipino athlete, all for Philippine sports,” he said. (PNA)
