ALEX Eala overcame a slow start and tough resistance from Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand, 6-1, 6-2 to capture her first Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medal on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, at the National Tennis Development Center in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
Her victory gave the Philippines its third overall gold medal in women’s singles and the first in 26 years.
She joined Pia Tamayo and Maricris Fernandez — champions in the 1981 Manila SEA Games and the 1999 Brunei edition, respectively — in the exclusive list of Filipina winners.
Eala rallied from a double break point in the opening game and won five straight to draw first blood.
The Filipina then survived three deuces in the third game for a commanding 3-0 lead before Sawangkaew momentarily stopped the bleeding in the next game.
Eala saved another break point in the fifth game and went on to win the next two games after deuce.
The second set opened with the two players trading games through the first four until Sawangkaew committed her third double fault, giving Eala the upper hand at 3-2.
From there, the world No. 52 Eala never allowed her scrappy No. 240-ranked rival to stage a comeback as the eventual champion swept the succeeding games to finish her 2025 campaign on a triumphant note.
It was definitely a year to remember for Eala, who became the first Filipino to play in a Grand Slam main draw in the Open Era and broke into the WTA Top 50.
Women’s football gold
The Philippines also accomplished its mission of winning the SEA Games women’s football gold medal after a stunning 6-5 penalty shootout victory over powerhouse Vietnam in the final on Wednesday night at the Chonburi Daikin Stadium in Thailand.
“I’m so proud of this team, so proud to be a Filipino and playing for our country,” said goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel after the match.
“People are doubting us, saying we don’t belong here. But we belong in this conversation, we belong at the top, and we’re just continuing to prove ourselves again and again, and we want to be regulars at the top,” she added.
The Philippines became the third country to win the gold medal after eight-time champion Vietnam and five-time winner Thailand.
The Pinay booters, who won the bronze in the 2021 edition held in Vietnam, went to Thailand prepared. In 2022, they topped the Asean Championships here, and the following year, they stunned host New Zealand, 1-0, in the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
The Philippines absorbed a 1-2 loss to Myanmar in the opening game of the 33rd SEA Games, but managed to conquer Vietnam, 1-0, and Malaysia, 6-0, to reach the Final Four.
The Filipinas fought hard to beat the Thais in the deciding penalty shootout, 4-2, after a 1-1 stalemate over 120 minutes, and earn a final ticket.
The match against five-peat seeking Vietnamese also went to a shootout, with the Pinay booters again stepping up to the plate, claiming victory with Jaclyn Sawicki’s go-ahead spot kick and McDaniel’s save against Tran Thi Thu.
“We never wanted to end on a loss; we’re going to win gold or we’re going to win bronze. We gave ourselves no choice, so the gold was ours for the taking,” said skipper Hali Long.
“We didn’t lose our first game to lose in the end. We dug out of the hole we put ourselves in, and we fought, and we crawled and we did everything we could in our power to get to the semifinals, to the finals, and put it away. As soon as we went to PKs (penalty kicks), I knew it was ours,” she added. / SPORTS RADIO / PNA