30th SEA Games ends with festivities, concert

With colorful fireworks displays, the parade of athletes from the 11 countries from Southeast Asia and the concert treat from Arnel Pineda and the Black Eyed Peas, the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games came to an end on Wednesday (December 11).
With the festivities, the SEA Games committee officially ended the 56 sports and over 500 events of the biennial meet.
The Philippines was hailed the Overall Champion after bagging 386 medals, with 149 gold, 118 silver, and 119 bronze.
Filipino surfer Roger Casugay was conferred with Fair Play Athlete award after his heroic act of saving fellow surfer from Indonesia during their competition.
“We didn’t allow the glitter of the gold to blind us. Hindi po tayo nabulag sa ginto. When an athlete’s life was at risk, it was clear to Roger what was more important than the gold,” PHISGOC Chairman House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano proudly said during his speech.
Male Mega Athlete was awarded to swimmer Zheng Wen of Singapore, while Female Mega Athlete was given to Thi Anh Vien Nguyen of Viet Nam.
The official handover of the SEA Games Flag to Viet Nam who will host the event in 2021 was also the highlight of Wednesday’s closing ceremony. — (with details from Mai Bermudez) /mbmf