MANILA — The Philippines added two more bronze medals to its medal haul at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with hurdler John Cabang Tolentino and esports squad Team Sibol delivering podium finishes on Sunday.
Tolentino secured bronze in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, clocking 13.48 seconds. China’s Chen Yuanjiang won gold in 13.15 seconds, while Japan’s Rachid Muratake took silver in 13.29 seconds. Tolentino, 25, previously represented the Philippines at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Team Sibol also secured a bronze medal in the Pokémon Unite competition after a strong recovery from an early setback.
The Philippine esports team began its campaign with a did-not-start (DNS) result alongside Kazakhstan because of a uniform-related issue. The squad then bounced back with victories over Chinese Taipei and Malaysia, both 2-0, before defeating Hong Kong 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
Their run ended in the semifinals with a 0-2 loss to Indonesia, which eventually claimed silver. Japan captured gold, while South Korea earned the other bronze medal.
Team Sibol’s roster consists of Kim Rey Salazar, Robert Jon Mempin, Michael Vaughn Ocio, Lance David, Ducke Harnold Leoncio, and Lawrence Anthony Gatmaitan, coached by Albert Camp.
With the two additional bronzes, the Philippines stood at 2 gold, 2 silver, and 8 bronze medals as of the PNA report.
China led the overall medal table at the time with 118 gold, 48 silver, and 38 bronze medals, followed by Japan with 37-60-57 and South Korea with 20-23-29. Among Southeast Asian nations, Thailand had 9-7-10, while Malaysia had 6-2-8. Indonesia and Singapore had two gold medals each.
Earlier in the day, veteran long jumper Janry Ubas also advanced to the men’s long jump final. He recorded 7.59 meters on his second attempt at Mizuho Park Stadium, placing eighth among 12 finalists.
Uzbekistan’s Anvar Anvarov topped the qualifiers with an 8.00-meter jump.
The latest results add to a growing list of Filipino medalists at the Games, including gymnast Carlos Yulo, who had already won two gold medals, as well as athletes and teams who collected silver and bronze medals across gymnastics, mixed martial arts, basketball, weightlifting, karate and soft tennis.
With competition continuing in Aichi-Nagoya, the Philippine delegation still has more events ahead — leaving the medal tally open to further changes as the Asian Games move toward their final stretch.
WWC ONE MEDIA G,A
