Naomi Cesar and Bernalyn Bejoy celebrate after winning gold and bronze in the women's 800-m in athletics in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, December 15, 2025 at the Suphachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. POC Media
Filipina football star Malea Cesar could not help but tear up after watching her younger sister Naomi bag a gold medal in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.
Malea was miles away in Chonburi while Naomi competed in the women's 800-m at the at the Suphachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Naomi wound up claiming the gold with a time of 2:10.2 -- a tenth of a second ahead of Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Thu Ha (2:10.3). Another Filipina athlete, Bernalyn Bejoy, clocked 2:10.6 for the bronze.
READ: Naomi Cesar wins 800m gold, Bejoy takes bronze
A post by the Philippine women's national football team showed an emotional Malea celebrating with her teammates as they watched Naomi's triumph at their hotel.
On Wednesday, the 22-year-old Filipinas defender will shoot to make it a double gold for the Cesar household when she and the Filipinas battle Vietnam in the women's football final at the Chonburi Daikin Stadium.
Malea and Naomi are the daughters of Ben Cesar, a former national team sprinter who competed in the 1991 Southeast Asian Games in Manila. The elder Cesar later migrated to the United States, where Malea, Naomi, and their brother Avery were born.
Malea, the eldest, said she and Naomi, the youngest among siblings, both played football and athletics, but the two eventually went different paths with their sport.
"I did a little bit in high school," said Malea when asked if she did athletics. "But I've always loved football more. I like to chase the ball instead of just running."
Malea, who plays NCAA Division III soccer with Trinity University, said Naomi once played football and was even part of the Philippine youth teams before eventually moving to athletics.
"She did a little bit. She did a little bit with the U17 national teams as well. But she always excelled at running," said Malea.
Ever since they were young, Malea, the eldest among three siblings with Naomi being the youngest, said she and Naomi are aware of how huge the SEA Games is because of their father.
Malea is already a bronze medalist in the SEA Games in Hanoi in 2022, but will now look to claim the gold medal this time around.
"It's something that we both talked about a lot and heard a lot before when we were growing up because of our dad," said Malea. "He ran in the SEA Games as well."
"We know what it means to be here. It's an honor and it's not something that we take lightly. But we've talked about what it means on this stage," she added.