Team Philippines may have finished sixth, but the result still feels like a breakthrough. The Filipino gymnasts reached the men’s artistic gymnastics team final at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, and Carlos Yulo says the work is not done.

The squad scored 227.359 points Wednesday at the Nagoya City General Gymnasium Rainbow Hall. Now Carlos Yulo and his brother Eldrew shift their focus to the individual finals, including the men’s floor exercise final Thursday, Sept. 24.

Philippines Gymnastics Team Final: Carlos Yulo Leads the Charge

Five gymnasts represented the Philippines in the final: Carlos Yulo, Eldrew Yulo, Miguel Besana, Justine Ace De Leon and Zachary Nunez. Carlos Yulo is a double Olympic gold medalist.

Eldrew Yulo is an FIG World Cup gold medalist. Besana and De Leon are Southeast Asian Games medalists.

Carlos Yulo once again topped the floor exercise with 14.266 points. He also bounced back on the vault, scoring 14.566 points. Yulo said he felt relaxed and “super comfortable” on the apparatus.

Yulo was candid about the team’s standing. He told POC Media the Philippines is still far from winning as a team. Yet he said he was happy about the finals berth, which he believes is a first for Team Philippines at the Asian Games.

Yulo called it “really a good result already for us, Filipinos po.” He said the whole team went all out and was exhausted by the end. Still, he said, the squad fought with all its heart.

Carlos and Eldrew Yulo Eye Asian Games Individual Finals in Nagoya

Carlos Yulo also qualified for the vault and parallel bars finals. Eldrew Yulo will compete in the horizontal bar final. Both brothers are set for the floor exercise final Thursday.

Besana also advanced to the vault final. He won gold in that event at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia. That gives Team Philippines a second gymnast in the vault final.

Carlos Yulo said he wants to showcase the artistry and elegance of his gymnastics under pressure. He said he wanted to be “really graceful” in the final and focus on performance more than the result.

Eldrew Yulo said he felt connected to the floor. His last pass was not as good as he expected, he said. Still, he knows what to change heading into the final.

The Yulo brothers aim to strike big for Team Philippines. The squad is supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.