Netizens erupt in jubilation after Filipinas clinch historic SEA Games gold

The Filipinas captured their first-ever SEA Games title with a penalty shootout win against the erstwhile reigning champion Vietnam. (Photo: PWNFT/Facebook)

The Philippine women's national football team added another chapter to their growing legend after bagging their first-ever gold medal in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel delivered the game-winning save in a tense penalty shootout as the Filipinas dethroned defending champion Vietnam, 0-0 (6-5), in the 2025 SEA Games at the Chonburi Stadium in Thailand on Wednesday, December 17.

“Honestly, I didn't want to do it [penalty shootout] again,” said McDaniel, according to Who the heck are we? podcast. “But I knew we all had a part to play, and we knew at the end of the day the job needed to be done. And so we just rallied behind each other, and we knew there was nothing else but the gold. So I think that's pretty much our mindset going through the entire game.”

She denied Trần Thị Thu of the potential game-tying penalty kick after Jaclyn Sawicki gave the Philippines the advantage with the first five takers of both teams getting the job done from the spot.

On Sunday, December 11, the Philippines edged host Thailand in a penalty shootout to reach the finals of the biennial meet for the first time since women's football was introduced in 1985.

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Team captain Hali Long, meanwhile, stressed that the Filipina booters refused to end their campaign empty-handed after starting the tournament with a narrow defeat at the hands of Myanmar.

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“We dug out of a hole we put ourselves in. And we fought, and we crawled, and we did everything we could in our power to get to the semifinals, get to the finals, and put it away. We practice our penalties too. As soon as we went to PKs [penalty kicks], I knew it was ours,” said Long in an interview with the Tiebreaker Times.

No Philippine football team had won a gold medal in the SEA Games across all genders and formats before the Filipinas did so, which Australian head coach Mark Torcaso credited to the efforts shown by his wards.

“This is definitely one of those moments where you definitely feel a little bit of excitement, and for me, it's all about the girls,” said Torcaso, as reported by sports journalist Reuben Terrado. “It's all about the time and effort that they put in for our country, and I'm just proud of it, and proud of every one of their family members and all our friends and family back home in the Philippines as well.”

Filipino fans have flocked to social media to express their love for the squad.

The SEA Games gold is the newest addition to the Filipinas' collection after they captured their – and the Philippines' – first major international title in the ASEAN Football Federation Women's Championship, now known as the ASEAN Women’s Championship, in 2022.

In 2023, they stunned host New Zealand for the Philippines' first win in the FIFA Women's World Cup for a short yet historic maiden campaign.