LOOK: Alex Eala, Bryan Bagunas lead Pinoy athletes at the SEA Games 2025 opening ceremony
Team Philippines showcased its strong lineup in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games.
The country's largest-ever contingent, with over 1,500 Filipino athletes, is set to clinch medals for this year's games.
Flag bearers WTA No. 50 Alex Eala and volleyball star Bryan Bagunas led the country's parade during the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at Morodok Techo National Stadium in Thailand.
The athletes wore national outfits called "Laro sa Lahi," created by Avel Bacudio, proudly displaying Filipino games like piko, tumbang preso, trumpo, and luksong baka, and featuring the Philippine flag's tricolor trimming. The collars bore the Philippine flag on one side and the Philippine Olympic Committee logo on the other.
Among the big names in this year’s Team Philippines are Olympians EJ Obiena, Nesthy Petecio, Eumir Marcial, Hergie Bacyadan, and Aira Villegas.
Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo is also making her comeback, following her back-to-back gold medals in 2019 and 2022.
Also familiar faces are Jia De Guzman, Maddie Madayag, Mhicaela Belen, Angel Canino, and Eya Laure from the volleyball team Alas Pilipinas. Meanwhile, Gilas Pilipinas is representing the country in basketball games.
Meanwhile, the official Games ceremony included the participation of the Thai King and Queen and a performance by the South Korea–trained Thai artist BamBam.
Far from the competition, renewed combat this week over a long-standing border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has killed six Cambodian civilians and three Thai soldiers, and wounded more than 20 others.
Citing safety concerns, Cambodia last month withdrew about half of its athletes, pulling out of eight events including football, wrestling, judo and karate.
Thailand's deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao said Tuesday that Thailand will "ensure the highest level of security" for Cambodian at athletes during the ongoing border tensions.
Security personnel will be deployed to guarantee their safety, he said, though specific operational details were not disclosed.
Thailand is hosting the SEA Games, which take place every two years, for the first time since 2007. They were first held in Bangkok in 1959.
The SEA Games are known for the inclusion of non-Olympic sports from the region such as sepak takraw, foot volleyball played with a rattan ball, and pencak silat, a martial art popular in Indonesia.
It will run from Dec. 9 to 20 in Thailand, bringing together 12,506 athletes from across Southeast Asia. (with reports from AFP)
