PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Soft tennis’ Joseph Arcilla grabbed the spotlight on a slow day for the Philippines and raised its gold tally to 26 in the Southeast Asian Games on Wednesday, May 10.

Arcilla bagged the Philippines’ lone gold for the day after ruling the men’s individual singles at the Olympic Stadium here, stepping up when athletes in gold-rich sports athletics and swimming fell short of the top prize.

Overcoming cramps and the sweltering Cambodian heat, the 37-year-old Arcilla beat Indonesia’s Muhammad Hemat Anugerah for Philippine soft tennis’ third gold in this SEA Games.

As Arcilla displayed his steely resolve, Janry Ubas and Aries Toledo flaunted their athletic prowess a day prior as they clinched silver and bronze in men’s decathlon – considered the event which determined the best athlete.

Ubas – who also nailed the men’s long jump gold on Tuesday – garnered 6,923 points across 10 events, while Toledo amassed 6,891 points, with Thailand’s Sutthisak Singkhon defending his decathlon throne with 7,468 points.

Soft tennis’ Bambi Zoleta could have made it a double gold for the Philippines on Wednesday but she bowed to Indonesia’s Dwi Rahayu Pitri in the women’s individual singles finals.

The same thing happened to pencak silat standout Dines Dumaan, who fell prey to Indonesia’s Khoirudin Mustakim in their duel for the men’s tanding class A (45-50kg) gold.

Filipino representatives in cricket women’s six-a-side and sepak takraw men’s and women’s hook takraw also settled for silvers.

Athletics and swimming added four bronzes combined on Wednesday courtesy of Natalie Uy (women’s pole vault), John Cabang (men’s 110m hurdles), Jarod Hatch (men’s 50m butterfly), and the quartet of Xiandi Chua, Teia Salvino, Chloe Isleta, and Jasmine Alkhaldi (women’s 4×200 freestyle relay).

Sibol, the Philippines’ esports team, added another bronze in the Valorant mixed team event.

The Philippines – backed by the Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Sports Commission – slipped to sixth in the medal table as Indonesia and Singapore leapfrogged to fourth and fifth with 35 and 27 golds, respectively.

Defending champion Vietnam (50 golds), host Cambodia (47), and Thailand (47) have figured in a neck-and-neck race for the overall title with six days to go before the SEA Games closes. – Rappler.com