December 10, 2019- A truly remarkable moment for a sport that has not been at the center of the spotlight establishes its way to the heart of every Filipino today. The Philippines’ made history after finally winning the Gold Medal award in the Men’s Team Event category for Soft Tennis for the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Philippines.
The Team Event between Philipines and Thailand was definitely one for the books as both countries left everyone in the arena at the edge of their seats keeping it to a highly contested 3 set outing.
The Thailanders drew first blood in the 1st Set Doubles event as Thanarit Surarak and Sakan Thansiriroj defeated the Philippines’ Noel Damian Jr. and Mark Alcoseba 5 points to 3.
With their hopes for Gold Medal on the line, the Philippines’ was able to rally back in the Singles Category led by team Captain Joseph Arcilla dominating Thailand’s Kawin Yannarit 4 points to 1.
The last set was one that could have gone either way as the Second Men’s Doubles had both countries going back and forth.
The Filipino pair of Mikoff Manduriao and Dheo Talatayod boosted off the momentum from their captain’s victory in the Men’s Singles of Set 2 as they astonishingly defeated Thailand’s Sujaitplee Teerapat and Torlarp Songweera 5 points to 3 landing them an emotional Top spot at the podium.
All it took was a strut of confidence and the desire to win as the Philippines has brought what used to be a quiet sport that is Soft Tennis, out of the shadows. And what better way to do it than on home soil.
