SEA Games 2025: ‘No shame’ as Singapore fall to powerhouses Philippines in men’s softball final

BANGKOK – Back in 2015, a bronze medal at the SEA Games was enough to make the Singapore men’s softball team feel overjoyed.

But, having raised the bar by winning the gold in 2019 in the Philippines – where they upset the regional powerhouses and hosts 6-1 in the final – a silver at the 2025 Games in Thailand has now brought disappointment. The sport did not feature in the 2021 and 2023 editions.

After losing 3-0 to the Philippines in the final in Pathum Thani on Dec 18, Singapore captain Dominic Han mused over how they would have reacted to a silver 10 years ago.

The 32-year-old said: “I was part of that team in 2015 and when we got a bronze, we were already so happy and felt that we have achieved something.

“I think that’s the irony of life, right? Ten years ago, we were so happy when we got the bronze and now a silver is actually disappointing.

“If I had a silver 10 years ago, I would be jumping with joy, so I will take this situation any day…

“This is probably the strongest Singapore team that we have ever had and we lost to a better team. No shame about that.”

Singapore had beaten the Filipinos 7-3 in the preliminary stage on Dec 17.

But, in the Dec 18 final at the Queen Sirikit 60th Anniversary Baseball Stadium, it was the Philippines who got off to a flying start in the first inning as third batter Justine Rosales smacked a home run to make it 1-0.

Singapore’s batters were unable to connect with the ball for a clean strike, as Filipino pitcher Jehanz Coro unleashed bullet-like throws at them.

Things got worse for Singapore in the fourth inning when Lyonas de Leon’s strike was not dealt with.

Denmark Bathan and Kenneth Torres, who were on first and second base, capitalised and completed their runs for 3-0.

Singapore brought on pitcher Jeron Tan to steady things and while his throws did the job, their batters just could not deal with Coro’s pitches.

With Singapore needing three runs to equalise in the seventh and final inning, Matthew Lim’s effort was caught, prompting the Filipinos to throw their gloves in the air as there were not enough runners for their rivals to make a comeback.

“We held them very close, but unfortunately, the big inning didn’t come,” said Han.

“Obviously, they (the team) feel it. They feel the grief, this disappointment… We have been training hard and the SEA Games gold has always been the aim of our Singapore men’s team.

“But I also think it’s very important that as the defending champions, we hold our heads high.

“We’re going to be rivals for the near future and I’m confident that we will get back and we’ll continue to put up good fights against them.”

Coro believes that his team were “lucky to win”.

He added: “The Singapore team is not easy to beat. They are strong, but we are lucky because we scored early.

“I told the boys, whoever scores early in the game will win this game, and we were lucky we hit a home run. So that gave the boys confidence, because if it was 0-0, Singapore is a tough team and they will get us.

“Now I’m just proud of my team – we are back and champions of the SEA Games.”

Singapore national coach Koh Ruoh Jie said: “We’re definitely disappointed because we came to these SEA Games wanting to defend our gold.

“The results from the other games actually validated our training and we know that we are on the right track.

“Looking forward, we have to learn how to adapt and deal with these sort of pitchers and we are going to have to deal with him for many years to come.”

The Philippines have dominated the sport at the SEA Games.

Their men’s team are now nine-time winners – missing out on only two occasions to Indonesia (1997) and Singapore (2019), while their women’s team have won gold in all 10 previous editions that the sport has featured at the biennial meet.

The Singapore women’s team will face the Philippines in their final on Dec 19.