TRIVIA

• The 2019 SEA Games is deemed one of the biggest SEA Games competitions – in terms of sporting events - to be held with 56 sports, 530 events, and 11 participating countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. The global sports event welcomes an estimated 8,750 athletes and officials, 2,050 technical officials, 1,500 media and press, and 12,000 volunteers.
• This is the fourth time the Philippines has hosted the games. The country had previously hosted in 1981, 1991, and 2005.
• The Philippines garnered 291 medals last 2005 – its best ever medal count in international competitions.
• The cute –yet controversial – SEA Games mascot dubbed as “Pami” was designed to represent “every nation, every athlete, every person coming together that support each other at the games,” according to 2019 SEA Games executive director Ramon Suzara. Pami is short for “pamilya,” which means “family” in Tagalog.
• SEA Games opening ceremony director and Palanca-award winning writer Floy Quintos wanted to honor the many different cultures and tribes of the Philippines. To be "inclusive of as many Filipino people as possible," Quintos incorporated numerous warrior dances into the opening performance, including dances from the Bagobo, Kalinga, and Maranao. He also included choreography of Arnis (the national martial arts) and the colonial folk dance, La Jota Manileña.
• “We win as one!” - the inspiring, official slogan and song of this year’s SEA Games was penned by Palanca-award winning writer and director Floy Quintos, with music composed by National Artist Ryan Cayabyab, and sang by Tony awardee Lea Salonga.
• The Philippines is one with Timor Leste, cheering them on in its first medal win. Quintas da Silva Jose Barreto won a Bronze medal - his country's first - in the men's flyweight semifinal in boxing. Timor-Leste first participated in the SEA Games in 2003, at the 22nd edition in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• The Philippines first joined the SEA Games – formerly called the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games - in 1977, along with Brunei and Indonesia. Previously, only countries within the Southeast Asia peninsula were admitted.

• This year’s SEA Games is the first in history to include Esports, which features 3 main categories: PC, console, and mobile.
• To be included in the Esports competitions are Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor, Dota 2, Starcraft II, Tekken 7, and Heartstone. The games are accredited by the Asian Electronic Sports Federation.
• In addition to Esports, the 2019 SEA Games marks the first time that skateboarding will be contested in the regional games. For this year’s edition, the skateboarding competition will be held at the Tagaytay Skate Park, with Asian Games gold medalist Margielyn Didal leading the team.
• Arnis, also known as Kali or Escrima, is considered the martial arts of the Philippines. This is the first time in 14 years that the indigenous sport has been hosted in SEA Games.
• Though most participating countries enjoy a tropical climate all-year round, winter sports has found strong support in the region.
• Ice hockey, figure skating, and short track speed racing were formally included in the SEA Games for the first-time ever in history in 2017.
• Taijiquan, the Chinese internal martial art based on the philosophy of Taiji, also known as Tai Chi, is typified by its slow and graceful movements. Jet Li is one of the most famous practitioners of this discipline.

• After saving Indonesian competitor Arip Nurhidayat from drowning, hero-surfer Roger Casogay won a fitting gold medal in the men’s longboard open. He beat fellow La Union surfer Jay-R Esquivel, 14.50-14.20, to claim the gold for the PHI’s 1-2 finish. His feat highlighted Team Philippines’ total of five gold medals in water sports.
• Olongapo’s homegrown athlete John Chicano secured the country’s first gold in 2019 SEA Games and third straight SEA Games Men’s Triathlon gold. Defending champion Kim Mangrobang also kept her champion title, a third repeat of the country’s SEA Games Women’s Triathlon gold in the swim-bike-run races.
• After an amazing run, Filipino gymnast Carlos Edriel “Caloy" Yulo completes his SEA Games performance with two gold and five silver medals. His next tournament will be the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
• Filipino-American James Deiparine finally ends the Philippines’ 10-year drought for gold in Swimming after dominating the 100m Breaststroke category at an impressive 1.01.46 minutes. The last gold won by the Philippines was in 2009 by Miguel Molina, Ryan Arabejo, and Daniel Coakley.
• It was a clean sweep for Team Philippines in the Obstacle Course Race with an all-gold medal finish. This sport debuted in this year's SEA Games with only 4 of the 11 countries participating, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, and the Philippines.
• Sibol, the Philippine eports Team secured their first gold medal in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Finals after beating Indonesia in a 3-2 nail-biter.
  The ML:BB team is composed of Kenneth Jiane "Kenji" Villa, Karl Gabriel "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno, Carlito "Ribo" Ribo, Jeniel "Haze" Bata-anon, Angelo Kyle "Pheww" Arcangel, Allan Sancio "Lusty" Castromayor, and Jason Rafael "Jay" Torculas.
• 65-year-old “The Magician” Efren “Bata” Reyes showed his fans that he has more tricks up his sleeves when he demolished his Thai opponent with a 100-36 win at the One Carom Cushion Quarterfinals. He has then bowed down to a much-younger Vietnamese opponent and settled for a Bronze finish. Reyes first brought honor to the country as a renowned pool player, with over 70 international titles to his name. He is also the first player to win world championships in two different disciplines in pool.
• Hidilyn Diaz clinched her first gold for weightlifting in the SEA Games after lifting a combined 211kg in the snatch and the clean-and-jerk. Diaz already has an Olympic silver medal and an Asian Games gold medal in her collection.
• 21-year-old Filipina Wushu star Agatha Chrystenzen Wong dominated the Women's Taijiquan event in this year's SEA Games after taking home 2 gold medals -- a big step up from her silver finish in the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
• The Philippines Arnis team boasts an impressive 22 medal-haul, one of the biggest contributions to the total medal tally. The sport symbolizes the spirit of battle and revolution, and is often referenced to 16th-century tribal ruler Lapu-Lapu, whose army killed Ferdinand Magellan and saw off the Spanish invaders, delaying their colonization by several decades.
• Sprinter Kristina Knott smashes records, finishing the women’s 200-meter sprint at 23.07, knocking off 9-hundredths of a second from the mark set by Zion Rose Corrales-Nelson. She later bettered her own record with 23.01 seconds in her final run.
• In a historic win, The Philippine Men’s Volleyball team dethroned Thailand in 5 sets:
  17-25, 25-20, 23-25, 27-25, 17-15. This is the first SEA Games men's volleyball gold medal match in 42 years!
• The Dance Sport Philippine Team swept 10 gold and 3 silver medals in its stunning run. Mark Jayson Gayon and Mary Joy Renigen garnered two golds for Waltz and Fox Trot, and one silver for Quick Step; while Sean Aranar and Anna Nualla won three golds for Tango, Viennese Waltz, and Five Standard Dances. Dancesport was introduced at the 23rd SEA Games due to its popularity.
• EJ Obiena not only took home a gold medal, but set a new record in the men’s pole vault final with a 5.45 mark.