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With a solitary gold, PH limps to one of its worst Asian Games performances

Team Philippines averted a gold medal-less campaign in the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, but the country still endured one of its worst showings in the quadrennial sports conclave pitting the continent’s best athletes.

If not for BMX rider Daniel Patrick Caluag’s scintillating performance in cycling, the Philippines could have come home without a gold medal for the second time since another delegation suffered the same fate as the 1974 delegation that competed in Tehran, Iran.

Luckily for the Philippines’ top sports officials, Caluag, a veteran of London Olympics, responded to the challenge on October 1 at the Ganghwa Asiad BMX Track in a big way, resulting in the country’s first gold medal in cycling.

It was also the Philippines’ first Asian Games medal in cycling since Victor Espiritu, a retired former Tour champion, bagged the bronze by finishing third in men’s road race in the 1998 Bangkok edition.

Other than Caluag, no other Filipino bet among the lean 150-strong delegation topped an event, causing the Philippines to finish 22nd overall among 45 participating nations with a 1-3-11 gold-silver-bronze medal haul.

But that pales in comparison to its last three showings in the Asiad, starting in 2002 Busan (three golds, seven silvers and 16 bronze medals), 2006 Doha (4-6-9) and 2010 Guangzhou (3-4-9), underscoring the alarming decline on the Filipino campaigners’ performance.

INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA - SEPTEMBER 27: Paul Marton Dela Cruz of the Philippines competes in the Compound Men's Team Bronze Medal Match during day eight of the 2014 Asian Games at Gyeyang Asiad Archery Field on September 27, 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA - SEPTEMBER 27: Paul Marton Dela Cruz of the Philippines competes in the Compound Men's Team Bronze Medal Match during day eight of the 2014 Asian Games at Gyeyang Asiad Archery Field on September 27, 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)



The Philippines also finished seventh among Southeast Asian countries, way behind powerhouse countries like Thailand (6th overall, 12-7-28), Malaysia (14th, 5-14-14), Singapore (15th, 5-6-13) and Indonesia (17th, 4-5-11).

Even last year’s SEA Games host, Myanmar, had a better showing than the Philippines, winning four medals in sepak takraw, two of them golds, good for 20th place overall.

Vietnam, another formidable SEAG campaigner, was a place better than the Philippines at 21st, courtesy of its one-gold, 10-silver and 25-bronze haul.

INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA - OCTOBER 03: Otgondalai Dorjnyambuu of Mongolia (red) fights Charly Suarez of Philippines (blue) during the men's boxing lightweight bout final on day fourteen of the 2014 Asian Games match at Seonhak Gymnasium on October 3, 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA - OCTOBER 03: Otgondalai Dorjnyambuu of Mongolia (red) fights Charly Suarez of Philippines (blue) during the men's boxing lightweight bout final on day fourteen of the 2014 Asian Games match at Seonhak Gymnasium on October 3, 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)



Three Filipino bets could only come up second-best in their respective events–boxer Charly Suarez (men’s lightweight) and a pair of wushu artists in Daniel Parantac (men's taijijian/Taijiquan all-around) and Jean Claude Saclag (men's sanda -60kg).

Out of the country’s 11 bronze medals, five of them came from its taekwondo jins–Levita Ronna Ilao (women's -49kg), Samuel Thomas Harper Morrison (men’s -74kg), Mary Anjelay Pelaez (women’s -46kg), Benjamin Keith Sembrano (men’s -68kg) and Kirstie Elaine Alora (women’s -73kg).

Three boxers also bagged a bronze each, led by London Olympian Mark Anthony Barriga (men’s light flyweight), Mario Fernandez (men’s bantamweight) and Wilfredo Lopez (men’s middleweight).

INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA - SEPTEMBER 30: Levita Ronna Ilao of Philippines (blue) competes with Li Zhaoyi of China (red) during the women taekwondo -49kg semi final on day eleven of the 2014 Asian Games at Ganghwa Dolmens Gymnasium on September 30, 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA - SEPTEMBER 30: Levita Ronna Ilao of Philippines (blue) competes with Li Zhaoyi of China (red) during the women taekwondo -49kg semi final on day eleven of the 2014 Asian Games at Ganghwa Dolmens Gymnasium on September 30, 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)



The remaining bronze medals came from wushu artist Francisco Solis (men's sanda -56kg), archer Paul Marton Dela Cruz (men's individual compound) and karate’s Mae Soriano (women's kumite -55kg).

Elsewhere Philippine athletes struggled against superior and vastly improved opponents. Two medal-rich disciplines that previously delivered podium finishes for the country - athletics and bowling - both came up empty-handed this time, while another reliable source of gold medals - billiards - was not included by the hosts.

But the spotlight fell heavily on the disastrous campaign by the celebrated Gilas Pilipinas, which finished seventh overall in the men’s basketball event, marking the country’s worst-ever finish in the sport since joining the competitions in 1951.