Raph Trinidad provided a rare highlight for the Philippines at the 2025 World Games, clinching a spot in the men’s cable wakeboard finals after a composed and inspired performance at the Sancha Lake Taohuadao Arena in Chengdu, China. His qualification kept the nation’s medal hopes alive despite a challenging day for other Filipino athletes.

Trinidad, who ranked third in the heats, narrowly advanced with a 70.80 score in the semifinals — well below the 80.20 he posted during Friday’s qualification. Leading the day were France’s Loic Deschaux with 89.80, Germany’s Max Milde with 86.60, and Florian Weiherer with 77.20. Trinidad will be joined in the Sunday finals by USA’s Isaac Claudio (75.00) and Hungary’s Oliver Orban (73.00).

“We will have a better idea come the finals,” said coach Carlo dela Torre. “He is up against heavy hitters from Germany and France. We’ll do our best.”
Trinidad’s campaign has full backing from the Philippine Olympic Committee, led by President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Other Filipino campaigns falter

Elsewhere, Eric Ordonez missed the men’s wake surf medal round after placing fifth in his semifinal heat with 40.00 points. In dragon boat action at the Xinglong Lake Hubin Arena, the national team fell short in all four events they contested in qualification and semifinals, including the 8-seater 200m and 500m, and the 10-seater 200m and 500m. In the 8-seater 2000m final, the team placed ninth out of 10 boats. They will aim for redemption in the 10-seater 2000m final on Sunday.

In wushu, Jones Llabres Inso finished seventh overall with 19.112 points in combined taijiquan and taijijian at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Gymnasium. The men’s floorball team also endured a heavy 11-1 loss to Sweden, with Lucas Enaje scoring the lone goal on a penalty just three minutes into the first period.