Last year, the Philippines lost a shining star. Ian "Yanyan" Lariba was the first player from the archipelago to qualify for the Olympics in table tennis, carrying the Philippine flag in Rio 2016. Lariba's time on earth was tragically cut short by leukemia, which claimed her life in September 2018. She was only 23. Her Philippine teammate Richard Gonzales, still ranked third in the Philippines at 48, carried her memory in his heart as he fought for their country at the recent 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Held November 30-December 11 in the Philippines, the SEA Games drew a formidable field. Along with the host nation, competitors hailed from Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Gonzales made a valiant run to the semifinals, where his progress was halted by Singapore's Clarence Chew Zhe Yu, who went on to lose the gold to fellow Singaporean Pang Yew En Koen. In the SEA Games, each semifinalist is guaranteed a medal, obviating an extra match for the bronze. Gonzales was the only Philippine medalist at the games. Gonzales took the opportunity to dedicate his hard-earned award to his fallen teammate Ian "Yanyan" Lariba, who would have been half his age at 24 this year. "She should have been here," said Gonzales to the Philippine fans. "It may be just a bronze but it's for her. It's for Yanyan." Gonzales believes that Lariba would have given the women on this year's podium a run for their money. "She should have been a medalist if she was here with us," said Gonzales, a many-time medalist himself. "It’s a regret that she got sick because she was very promising." It has been longer than Gonzales would like to consider since he claimed gold at the 2005 Southeast Asian Table Tennis Championship. What does the future hold for the Philippine all-time great? "We’re not getting any younger," he admits. "I’m thinking about (retirement) and looking at just coaching the young guns. But nothing is cast in stone so let’s see." Whatever course Gonzales and his Philippine table tennis team take, they will navigate by the eternal light of "Yanyan," their first Olympic star.

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