Philippine jiu jitsu athlete Dean Roxas bucked a short recovery time to be able to compete in the SEA Games 2025 in Thailand.
BANGKOK — Dean Roxas recovered just in time for the SEA Games 2025 in Thailand, where he won one of two gold medals so far for the Philippine jiu jitsu team in men’s ne-waza.
Roxas, who won the gold in 2019, ruled the men’s 85kg division at the Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Thai Air Force Academy on Thursday afternoon.
The Filipino jiu jitero needed just about a minute to submit his foe, Singapore’s Aacus Hou Yu Ee, in the gold medal match to clinch the team’s second gold. He followed up Kimberly Custodio’s own gold medal win at the women’s 48kg competition earlier.
[READ:
SEA Games: Kim Custodio, Dean Roxas’ gold medals lead huge haul for Philippine jiu-jitsu]
After the match, he said that it was a collaborative effort for him to recover in a short amount of time and be able to achieve this feat.
“Well, it was the people around me who believed in me and people who support me. And I wouldn't have done it without any of them,” said Roxas.
“So it's a group effort, guys. This one's for you guys. Not just mine,” he continued.
Included in his close circle is his long-time partner Geneva Cruz.
Future is bright
It’s not just Roxas and Custodio, though, as more and more younger jiu jitsu athletes show promise in the competition.
Among them were the other members of the men’s team, Yman Baluyo and Vito Luzuriaga.
Baluyo was a win away from clinching another gold medal for the team when he competed in the final in the men’s 69kg. However, he fell short and lost against Vietnam’s Dang Dinh Tung via quick submission to settle for silver.
At the end of the day, he believes that there is more to come for the team.
“It shows that our Jiu-Jitsu program is really good. It's getting more popular in the Philippines. And I know that our grassroots program, which you're seeing some of them, the 18-year-olds, they're coming up now,” Roxas said on what the future holds for the team.
“The guy in my division, Vito, under 85 kilos, he's only 18 years old. He was from the kids program. So watch out for the Philippines because our grassroots program is really strong.”
Friday wraps up action for the ne-waza competitions while jiu-jitsu duo classic closes the sport’s events in the SEA Games on Saturday, December 13.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.