Domin8ing: Break Out Talents at the 2015 SEA Games

Philippine Pride has never been stronger with all of the Pilipinas teams doing their nation proud at the 2015 SEA Games. All of the Philippine athletes gave a stellar performance which resulted in more medals compared to the past Games, leading the country to finish at 6th with a total of 131 medals (29 gold, 36 silver, and 66 bronze).

Amidst all of the laudable feats of athleticism at the Games, here are 8 of the break out talents:

8. Mark Belo (Men’s Basketball)

Via philstar.com

A Gilas Cadets member from UAAP FEU, Mark Belo showed an exemplary performance during the SEA Games. Teamed up with the best of the best from the UAAP and NCAA, along with the naturalized Marcus Douthit, Belo scored 22 points which resulted in a win over Indonesia and secured a gold for Philippine Men’s Basketball.

7. Josie Gabuco (Women’s Boxing)

Via supersport.com

28 year old Josie Gabuco remains unbeatable in her fourth consecutive run at the SEA Games. Gabuco dominated in the lower weight classes, winning her a four-peat: She won gold in 2009 and 2011 for the Pinweight division, and gold for the 2013 and 2015 Light Flyweight division.

6. Pauline Lopez (Women’s Taekwondo)

Via sports.inquirer.net

The 19 year old Lopez won 20-12 over Thi Thu Hien Pham in the women’s under 57 category. The young athlete previously won gold at the 2014 Asian Youth Games.

5. Mario Fernandez (Men’s Boxing)

Via philboxing.com

Bantamweight Boxer Mario Fernandez knocked out Thai opponent Tanes Ongjunta at 2:15 of their third round with a deadly counter left hook, dropping the Thai athlete to the floor. This is the 21 year old’s second consecutive gold medal at the SEA Games in Singapore.

4. Eric Cray (100m and 4OOm Hurdles)

Via themalaymailonline.com

Aside from winning gold at the SEA Games’ 100m and 400m hurdle categories, Eric Cray also broke the record for shortest time. Cray finished with a time of 49.40 seconds, beating Thailand’s Chanon Keanchan’s 1995 record of 49.75.

3. Christopher Ulboc (3000m Steeplechase)

Via gmanetwork.com

Independence Day was made sweeter for the Philippines as Chris Ulboc won the 3000m steeplechase. He rushed past Vietnamese Tien San Pham in the last 200m and finished with a time of 8:59:07.

2. Marella Salamat (Women’s Individual time trial/Cycling)

Via sports.inquirer.net

Debuting in the SEA games and doing competitive cycling for two years, Salamat won gold in the women’s individual time trial finishing at 44:46:38 over the 30km in the Marina Bay area of Singapore.

1. Philippine Sailing Team (Men’s Sailing)

Via Philippine Sailing Team's facebook

Composed of Ridgely Balladares, Richly Magsanay and Rommel Chavez, the Pilipinas Sailing Team gave an improved performance from their 2013 – one that merited a gold. Their success is the Philippines first SEA Games Sailing gold since 2005.

Who were your favorite athletes at the 2015 SEA Games? Tell us how they did the country proud in the comments below!

Domin8ing: Break Out Talents at the 2015 SEA Games

Domin8ing: Break Out Talents at the 2015 SEA Games