The Philippine taekwondo team closed out the 33rd Southeast Asian Games with silver medals for Kenneth Riley Buenavides and Merica Lilyn Chan in their respective debuts. Buenavides, 20, fell to Thai competitor Thanapoom Fuangnoi, 13-11, in the men’s -63kg final after a hard-fought match that went the full distance.

“I could not get the gold, so it means I really need to continue working hard,” said Buenavides, based in Los Angeles, California. “But I am still grateful to have this opportunity. I will be back stronger.” He earlier defeated Phoutthasone Xayyaseng of Laos in the semifinals to secure his spot in the gold medal match.

Chan of Cotabato City also settled for silver in the women’s -63kg event after losing to hometown favorite Sasikarn Tongchan, 0-2. Chan advanced to the final following a withdrawal by her Cambodian opponent Julie Mam.

“Not satisfied with what I accomplished this SEA Games. I must learn from this,” said Chan, a gold medalist in the UAAP women’s 67kg division last year. “I am not going to stop from my hard work.”

Additional medals for the Philippine team

Dave Cea added a bronze in the men’s -74kg division, while Baby Jessica Canabal also claimed bronze in the women’s -53kg category. The team’s overall taekwondo tally at the games included two golds, six silvers, and six bronzes.

The gold medals came from Tachiana Mangin in the women’s -49kg class and poomsae competitor Justin Kobe Macario, adding to the country’s growing medal count in Bangkok.

Challenges in competition setup

Philippine Taekwondo Association Secretary-General Rocky Samson noted that the host country’s setup allowed them to compete in all seven events while other participating nations could only enter five.

“For a fair and equal treatment, and clean decision by the host, I guess we made three or four of the six silvers into five to six gold medals,” Samson said. The team’s haul was less than its previous SEA Games performance in Cambodia two years ago, where they secured six golds, one silver, and eight bronzes.