Philippine athletes dominate Day 1 of SEA Games competition

John "Rambo" Chicano and Kim Remolino finished first and second, respectively, in the men's triathlon event.

Athletes from the Philippines sustained a strong start into daylong dominance in the official first day of competition of the 30th Southeast Asian Games on Sunday.

The Philippines won a total of 23 gold medals in Day One of the biennial meet, way ahead of the competition.

LIST: Philippine medal winners at SEA Games 2019 - Day 1

Triathlon set the stage for the country at dawn, with John 'Rambo' Chicano and Kim Remolina finishing 1-2 in the men's triathlon for the country's first two medals in the biennial meet.
 

Kim Mangrobang (left) and Kim Kilgroe finished first and second, respectively, in the women's triathlon event.

The country's women triathletes followed it up with another 1-2 finish as Kim Mangrobang and Kim Kilgroe also won the gold and silver medals, respectively, for their event.

IN PHOTOS: Pinoy men, women dominate SEA Games 2019 triathlon
 

Carlos Yulo showed off his world class gymnastics skills en route to gold.

World champion Carlos Yulo delighted his hometown crowd at Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila with a sublime performance in the men's all-around artistic gymnastics individual event.

It was also a double gold for the men's and women's hoops team in sepak takraw.
 

Agatha Wong kept her crown in the wushu competition.

Agatha Wong successfully defended her crown in wushu in the women's taolu taijiquan event. Her compatriot Daniel Paranac settled for a bronze in the same event.

The Philippines scored its biggest windfall in dancesport, with Philippine teams winning five gold medals in the Standard dances and another five in Latin for a total of 10.

Sean Aranar and Ana Nualla won gold medals in Open Standard, Single Dance Tango, and Single Dance Viennese, while Mark Jayson Gayon and Mary Joy Renigen scored golds in Single Slow Foxtrot and Single Dance Waltz, and a silver in Standard Quickstep.

The pair of Wilbert Aunzo and Pearl Marie Cañeda won gold medals in Single Dance Samba, Single Dance Chachacha, and Single Dance Rumba, while Michael Angelo Marquez and Stephanie Sabalo won gold in Open Latin and Single Dance Paso Doble, and silver in Single Dance.

Team Pilipinas also had a gold rush in arnis, a combat sport indigenous to the country. The home team swept the men's live stick competitions with Mike Bañares (welterweight), Dexler Bolambao(bantamweight), Niño Mark Talledo (featherweight), and Villardo Cunamay (lightweight) winning golds in their respective divisions.

In the women's competition, Jezebel Morcillo notched the gold in the bantamweight division, beating Vietnam's Thi Huong Nguyen via unanimous decision. Jude Oliver Marie Rodriguez settled for silver in the featherweight division after losing to Vietnam's Thi Thanh Binh Vu via unanimous decision. Eza Rai Yalong (lightweight) and Erlin Mae Busacay (welterweight) went home with bronzes.

Estie Gay Liwanen won in the kurash women's 63kg division.Jenilou Mosqueda, meanwhile, copped a silver medal in the 57kg category. Helen Dawa and Jayson Senales each nabbed a bronze medal in the 52kg and 90kg, respectively.

Late in the day, Jan Emmanuel Garcia secured a gold in individual online chess, a demonstration sport for the Games.

In polo, the Philippines made a gallant stand before falling to Malaysia to settle for the silver in Division A competition.

Niño Surban also won a silver in the Olympic mountain bike cross-country event, while EJ Flores won a bronze. Avegail Rombaon also won a bronze in the Olympics mountain bike cross-country event.

Alisson Perticheto won the silver medal in women's figure skating, finishing behind defending champion Chloe Ing of Singapore after the long program at the SM Megamall skating rink. Christopher Caluz also won a silver medal, finishing behind Julian Yee of Malaysia.

Mary Flor Diaz, a cousin of Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, won a bronze medal in the women's 45kg division of weightlifting.

The men's water polo team also scored a thrilling 14-11 victory over Malaysia for the silver medal in the event. The women's team, meanwhile, won the bronze medal.

FULL COVERAGE: 30th Southeast Asian Games on GMA News Online

In basketball, the Philippine men's and women's 3x3 teams started their respective campaigns in the 30th Southeast Asian Games on a high note after sweeping the first day of the preliminary round at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan Sunday.

The men's squad finished with an immaculate 4-0 win-loss card for an early semifinals bid, while the women's team also remained unscathed with a 3-0 record.

Philippines' CJ Perez, Mo Tautuaa Chris Newsome and Jason Perkins defeated Indonesia in the first match, 21-17. The home team then took down Myanmar, 21-10, before dismantling Vietnam, 21-15, in the third game. They completed the sweep after a 21-10 rout of Thailand.

In the women's division, Philippines' Jack Animam, Clare Castro, Janine Pontejos and Afril Bernardino started their campaign with a 21-4 blowout of Myanmar. They followed it up with a close 15-13 win over Malaysia, before escaping Indonesia, 16-13. —JST, GMA News