For the Philippine women's national football team, their historic gold medal in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games serves as an answer to those who have doubted them along the way.
The Filipinas ended Thailand and Vietnam's duopoly in women's football, becoming only the third team to win the gold in the SEA Games.
It's the latest in a long string of highlights for the trailblazing Philippine squad, which includes a 1-0 win over host New Zealand in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.
It's also an improvement from their bronze in the pandemic-delayed SEA Games in Hanoi in 2022 -- and a bounce back performance after missing out on the semis in 2023 and failing to make it out of the group stage in the AFF Women's Championship earlier this year.
Their recent setbacks served as fuel for the Filipinas, who entered the SEA Games determined to prove a point.
READ: Filipinas dethrone Vietnam for first-ever SEA Games gold
"I think it's just any time we can put our country on a pedestal and make it the talking point and make sure people are talking about us and know how strong we are. I think that's the most important," said Olivia McDaniel, who was once again the hero for the team.
"People are always doubting us and talking about us and saying we don't belong here. But we belong in these conversations. We belong, you know, at the top," she stressed.
"We're just continuing to prove that again and again. And we want to be regulars at the top."
The road to the gold medal was not straightforward, especially after the Filipinas dropped their tournament opener to Myanmar, 1-2.
A slim 1-0 win over defending champion Vietnam and a 6-0 demolition of Malaysia sent them to the semifinals, where they defeated Thailand in a penalty shootout, 4-2, after a 1-1 stalemate over 120 minutes to claim a Finals berth for the first time ever.
A silver medal would already be historic but for the Filipinas, their eyes were firmly set on the top of the podium.
The Philippine women's national football team celebrates after beating Vietnam in a penalty shootout to win the gold medal in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, December 17, 2025 at the Chonburi Stadium in Chonburi, Thailand. PFF-PWNFT via POC Media
"We never want to end on a loss. We were going to win bronze or we were going to win gold. We gave ourselves no choice," said skipper Hali Long, who reached a personal milestone of 100 caps against Thailand, and celebrated her 101st by helping the Filipinas win gold.
"The gold was ours for the taking," she stressed. "We did not lose our first game [just] to lose in the end. We dug out of a hole we put ourselves in."
Their gold medal showdown against Vietnam also went to a penalty shootout, but unlike Thailand the defending champions displayed nerves of steel in making their first five kicks.
It went to sudden death, where veteran Jackie Sawicki sent her shot to the top left corner, and McDaniel came up with a save on Tran Thi Thu -- a sequence that won't soon be forgotten by Filipino football fans.
"This is what we asked for," Long said, reflecting on their penalty shootout. "If this is what it takes to win gold, we're going to do it. We're going to step up to the plate. We're going to take every penalty until how many people take them again and again and again."
"We're going to finish this game on top."