MANILA – The Philippines finished second to men's water polo stalwart Singapore in the 25th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Vientiane, Laos Monday.

According to the SEA Games official website, the RP team defeated bronze medalist Indonesia, 18-3, at the Aquatic Centre at the National Sports Complex. 

Singapore took the event’s first gold medal after beating Thailand, 8-5, in the final round robin match. It was the island city-state's 23rd SEA Games men's water polo gold medal.

RP team captain Almax Laurel commented on his squad’s silver medal finish: “It has been a good experience for the players to play at the SEA Games and I hope that we will continue to grow as a team.”

Laurel noted that the Philippine water polo team had 7 new players.

“But I hope that in the future, more Southeast Asian countries are encouraged to play the sport and help foster the growth of the game,” he continued. “At the very least, it will make water polo more competitive than it is now.”

The Philippines lost to Singapore, 1-8, on Sunday. It opened its water polo bid with a victory over Thailand, 6-4, on Saturday.

The SEA Games will officially start on Wednesday and end on December 18.

A total of 390 gold medals are at stake for the 11 participant countries: Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Brunei, Timor-Leste, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia.