(Editor’s Note: Mart’s Mind is a dedicated space for Rebanse’s lead sports journalist, Martin Dale D. Bolima, where he shares his unfiltered thoughts on anything sports. It could be a commentary of an issue, a deeper analysis of a game, a random musing about something, or whatever he deems worth sharing. His thoughts don’t necessarily represent those of Rebanse, but they’re certainly meant to open up discussions and inspire dialogue.)
Let’s be clear from the outset: Despite what the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) want us to believe, finishing sixth out of ten countries in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Thailand isn’t a success.
Yes, both the POC and PSC—via their so-called leaders Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Patrick “Pato” Gregorio—insist the Philippines’ most recent SEA Games campaign was a success. That claim deserves scrutiny. Hard scrutiny.
“We are the no. 1 country in terms of bronze medals. What does that mean? ‘Yun ‘yung grassroots. That is the future of Philippine sports,” Gregorio recently said in an interview with GMA News. “Kaya tama si POC, tama ‘yung mga NSAs (national sports authorities). Because bakit tayo ang no. 1 sa bronze, because ‘yun ‘yong grassroots na pinadala natin… That is the future of Philippine sports. Experience has no price tag.”
Such a bold declaration sounds inspirational. It sounds encouraging. In reality, it’s a convenient rationalization that obscures glaring weaknesses—and maybe even a failure of true leadership.
Bronze Medals Are Consolation, Not Glory
Yes, the Philippines won the most bronze medals in the Thailand SEA Games. But what exactly does that mean? It means our athletes were competitive enough to reach the podium but not competitive enough to win. Bronze, if we’re being bluntly honest, is a consolation prize. It is recognition of participation and potential, not proof of excellence. Celebrating sixth place with a bronze-heavy haul is like applauding a student for scoring 82 on a test when everyone else scored 90 or higher.
This isn’t a knock on our athletes who won bronze medals. They deserve credit. They deserve incentives. They deserve recognition. But they also deserve better leadership—the kind that can actually run elite sports programs capable of producing world-caliber athletes who can win gold, not consolation prizes.
Declining Performance in SEA Games
Gregorio is right that experience is crucial. But he conveniently forgets that the Philippines’ sixth-place finish in the SEA Games Thailand is a step down from its fifth-place finish in Cambodia in 2023, which itself was a decline from fourth place in 2022. By Gregorio’s logic, the Philippines should be rising in the ranks, not falling.
For all the bronze medals won in the 33rd edition of the SEA Games, the Philippines earned only 50 gold medals—two fewer than the 52 in 2022 and eight fewer than the 58 in 2023. To be fair, Gregorio assumed the PSC post only this year. Tolentino, however, has led the POC since 2019, and the country’s declining regional performance is a clear symptom of weak leadership.
The POC and PSC cannot sugarcoat the final outcome in Thailand as a “success” without admitting the systemic failures it highlights. Coaching gaps, lack of sports science support, inconsistent training programs, and inadequate elite-level preparation are all on display here. Sixth place doesn’t lie; it exposes the cold, hard truth.
If these bronze medals in the Thailand SEA Games are meant to signal future promise, then we must also admit the uncomfortable truth: Promise without execution is meaningless. Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia—countries investing strategically in both grassroots and elite pathways—did not just win more golds; they maximized the development-to-success pipeline. The Philippines, in contrast, is either still experimenting or has stagnated. The talent exists. The pipeline exists. But the bridge to elite performance is weak, leaky, and underfunded.
Don’t Be Blinded by Bronze
Yes, experience has no price tag. But when that experience results in a sixth-place finish, it carries a price in credibility, public expectation, and athlete morale. Labeling this finish a “success” risks institutional complacency. It tells NSAs and policymakers that sending athletes underprepared is sufficient. It is not—not if Philippine sports is to compete sustainably, not if we are to stop relying on chance podium finishes instead of consistent excellence.
For the sake of argument, let’s kowtow to Gregorio’s and Tolentino’s wishful thinking and pretend the Philippines’ SEA Games campaign in Thailand was a success for winning 154 bronze medals. Even if it is a step in the right direction, it is a small, tentative step, and it should not distract from this uncomfortable reality: The Philippines remains behind its neighbors in elite sporting execution. That is the story the POC and PSC must reckon with—not the convenient narrative of “success” when it actually isn’t.
