MANILA – Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Tolentino believes the country could have achieved its eight-gold-medal projection at the 20th Asian Games, pointing to the nine silver medals in the tally.
The country's medalists from the continental showcase were given a homecoming dinner by the POC and the Philippine Sports Commission in Manila on Monday.
Team Philippines returned home with four gold medals, nine silver, and 16 bronze—the biggest medal haul since the 1966 Asiad in Bangkok, Thailand.
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"I can say that hindi ko pwedeng ikahiya na kaya talaga yung eight [gold medals]. I can explain it. I can, yung mga magtatanong, no, nasaan na yung eight? Yes, it was eight. Doon lang tayo pipitas sa silver," Tolentino said at the homecoming press conference.
The country's four golds came from gymnast Carlos Yulo in floor exercise and vault, EJ Obiena in pole vault, and Jeus Yape in virtual taekwondo.
The four gold medals matched the 2018 and 2023 Asiad, but fell short of the POC's eight-gold target.
The POC chief stood by the initial target of eight gold medals in Aichi-Nagoya, believing some of the silver medals were so close to gold had it not been for the officiating.
"Kay Carlo Paalam, nakita niyo naman. 'Di ba? Kayo na humusga doon. That's a sure gold. Yung dalawang jiu jitsu at taekwondo ng silver, they got both zero sa referee sa scoring, diba? And nag-decide na lang yung referee. Referee's decision," Tolentino explained.
"Sobra-sobra pa nga 'yun. Kay Saclag sa MMA. Matagal ko na sinasabi yun na may nakatago yung silver niya. Nangigil lang yung bata natin, yung atleta natin," he added.
Aside from the silver medalists, the POC chief also pointed out a potential gold medalist in Victoria Bossong, who copped bronze despite topping the preliminaries.
"One bronze that should have been gold, with due respect to Victoria [Bossong]... sa heat time number one 2:02, sa final 2:04, should have been gold," he shared.
"It's more than eight. So, but still, we are very, very happy sa result. Beating, kaya alam niyo naman lahat yun, beating the record since 60 years. In beating the 1970 up," Tolentino said.
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YOUTH MOVEMENT IN TEAM PH
Philippine Olympic Comittee president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino and Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Patrick Gregorio join Filipino athletes in a press conference after the 20th Asian Games, October 5, 2026 at the Century Hotel in Manila. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio sees a bright future in Philippine sports, noting that some of the medalists are aged 20 years old or younger.
"Very happy ako na yung mga nagmedalya. Nakita ko yung age group, talagang mga bata. Talagang very promising. And naisip ko nga, talagang maganda yung development na ginagawa natin," Gregorio said.
"Katulad ng Southeast Asian Games Youth Plus sa December. And lahat ng gagawin natin, programs for grassroots and regional training centers," he added.
The PSC chief reminded the athletes to tune out the noise and focus on their training and competing for the Philippines on the international stage.
"Tuloy-tuloy po ang suporta namin sa inyo. Kung ano po ang sinasabi nila sa social media, wag nyo na pong isipin yun. Basta po tayo masaya, nagbigay po tayo ng karangalan para sa Pilipinas," he said.
The POC chief reiterated that most of the sports where the country bagged medals are events that will be staged in the Olympics.
Given this, Tolentino believes the country's performance at the Asiad is a welcome sign on the road to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"So lahat yun, bubuhusan. In short, doon ang focus, doon ang direction, doon din ang focus ng funding ng government. Huwag bibitaw. Huwag bibitinin. Dapat buhos," Tolentino said.
For the part of the PSC, Gregorio said the coming days will be crucial for Philippine sports as sports officials will have to defend their budget at the Senate.
"Tayo po ay pupunta sa Senado para ipaglaban ng pondo ng sports para makaprepara tayo sa 2027 Southeast Asian Games, SEA Games Youth Plus, para po sa Asian Beach Games at para po sa LA Olympics," the PSC chief explained.
"Kailangan po makita nila [Congress] na talagang tayo lahat ng nagmedal na rito, PSC and POC, we are requesting them to please set aside more money for Philippine sports as we prepare for the Southeast Asian Games and the LA Olympics," he said.
Under Republic Act No. 10699, athletes who win gold at the Asian Games get P2 million, silver medalists receive P1 million, and bronze medalists cop P400,000.