Kirstie Elaine Alora capped the day with an emotional victory as Filipino taekwondo jins fueled a gold rush on Saturday in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The 33-year-old Alora, an Olympian in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, ended a 10-year gold medal drought in the SEA Games when she defeated Vietnam's Thi Huong Nguyen in the final of the women's -73kg class.

Alora's triumph at Hall F in Chroy Changvar Convention Center gave her a SEA Games gold for the first time since 2013, when she ruled the same division in Myanmar.

She had settled for silvers in 2017, 2019, and 2021, but had enough in the tank for a 2-1 triumph against Thi.

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It was one of four gold medals won by the Philippine taekwondo team on Saturday as the country made a push to match its haul from last year in Hanoi.

• SEA Games: Barbosa, 3 other Pinoy jins continue gold rush in taekwondo

Also triumphant were Tokyo Olympian Kurt Barbosa in the men's -54kg, Arven Alcantara in the men's -68kg, and Samuel Morrison in the men's -87kg.

For Barbosa, it's a third straight SEA Games gold, as he has ruled his division since 2019 in Manila. Morrison, meanwhile, has now won a gold medal in a fourth different weight class. He competed in -68kg in Singapore 2015, -74kg in Kuala Lumpur 2017, -80kg in Manila 2019, and now in -87kg in Phnom Penh.

The haul of the taekwondo team eased the sting of a subpar day for the Filipino boxers, with only Ian Clark Bautista copping a gold medal.

Bautista produced a clinic against Indonesia's Asri Udin to take a unanimous decision. His teammates, however, were not as fortunate.

Rogen Ladon (men's 51kg), Irish Magno (women's 54kg) and Riza Pasuit (women's 63kg) all settled for silver medals. It was an especially frustrating defeat for Magno, who once again bowed to Thai rival Jutamas Jitpong -- the same boxer who ended her campaign in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

• SEA Games: Sweet-punching Bautista nabs gold in boxing
• SEA Games: Ladon, Magno, Pasuit settle for silver in boxing

Adding another gold was the pair of Francis Alcantara and Ruben Gonzales, who ruled the men's doubles in tennis.

Their efforts hiked the Philippines' total to 37 golds, with 64 silvers and 77 bronzes as of 11:00 p.m. on Saturday. However, the Philippines is still in sixth place, behind Singapore (41-33-42).

Vietnam appears headed for a repeat after compiling an 87-79-87 haul, followed by Thailand (78-52-76). Host nation Cambodia is in third place with 59 golds, 53 silvers, and 80 bronzes, followed by Indonesia with 56-53-72.

Sports officials are confident that more golds are coming care of arnis, as well as the five Filipino boxers who will see action on Sunday including Tokyo Olympics silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio.

The country's weightlifting team, led by budding star Vanessa Sarno, is also tipped to contribute to the cause.

Meanwhile, both the Gilas Pilipinas men's and women's teams bounced back with victories on Saturday, but the women's volleyball team was relegated to the bronze medal match after being swept by Thailand in the semifinals.

• SEA Games: Thailand crushes PH in volleyball semis
• SEAG: Gilas through to semis after 60-point rout of Singapore
• SEAG: Gilas Women dominate Vietnam for bounce back win

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