PALEMBANG – Iris Ranola became the first Filipino to win two gold medals Thursday when she beat compatriot Rubilen Amit in the women’s 9-ball singles in the 26th Southeast Asian Games.

Three other gold medals were picked up elsewhere, bringing the Philippine gold collection to 19 halfway through the games.

All in all, the Filipinos have now banked 92 medals, including 34 silvers and 39 bronzes.

A 1-2 finish in the mixed butler event gave the Philippines its second gold in bridge.

Gemma Mariano and Francisco Alquiros finished ahead of teammates George Soo and Mylene Encontro in the least-known card game.

In faraway Jakarta, the men’s archery team captured the compound event and Nancy Quillotes delivered in judo.

The Philippines advanced in two softball finals, picked up its fourth straight win against Indonesia in baseball, wrapped up the silver in water polo after a 10-9 win over Indonesia, started well in men’s tennis singles -- Cecil Mamiit and Jeson Patrombon won, hurdled its lone bout in boxing through flyweight boxer Rey Saludar, looked good in chess where Grandmasters Oliver Barbosa and Joey Antonio held sway.

Aside from Amit, the other silvers won Thursday came from cyclist Mark Galedo in the 168-kilometer massed start, pencak silat fighter Jul-Omar Abdulhakim and the rowing tandem of Benjie Tolentino and Jose 

Rodriguez.

At the close of the swimming event, the Filipinos failed to win a single gold – their best bet Ryan Arabejo settling for the bronze in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle.

Bowling picked up its fourth medal – a bronze by the trio of Biboy Rivera, Frederick Ong and Raoul Miranda.

Ranola, propped up by her earlier victory in the 8-ball singles, hardly made a mistake in a 7-2 thumping of Amit, a former world champion herself.

She raced to a 6-1 lead and later admitted she had mixed feelings.

“Masakit sa akin nung lamang ako 6-1 kasi gusto ko din siya makabawi,” said a teary-eyed Ranola who hugged her teammate after the match. “Ang bigat din ng pakiramdam ko ko nung tinira ko kumbinasyon nung 2-9 sa fifth rack.”

Ranola is not counting out Amit.

“Abangan ninyo na din. Babawi si Bingkay sa mga susunod na tournaments,” added Ranola, calling Amit by her nickname.

The old rivals arranged an all-Filipino final early in the day by thumping separate semifinal opponents.

Ranola outclassed Huynh Thi Ngoy Huyen of Vietnam, 7-3, while Amit took care of Hoe Shtj Wah of Singapore, 7-4.

Billiards has now won three gold and is on track for a fourth in the men’s 9-ball singles.

Django Bustamante got going with an easy 9-3 disposal of Ooi Fook Yuen to advance into the quarterfinals.

Unheralded Jundel Mazon, on the other hand, humbled Ahmad Taufiq Mumi of Brunei, 9-4.

However, Rodolfo Jordan and Alvin Barbero bowed out of the snooker singles event.

In archery, the trio of Earl Benjamin Yap, Delfin Anthony Adriano and Rosendo Sombrio outscored Malaysians Muhammad Zaki Maha, M. Kaharuddin and Kelvin Hoo Kok Men, 225-221, in the men’s team compound final.

The victory made up for the early elimination of Jennifer Chan, Joann Tabanag and Rachelle Anne Cabral in the distaff side.

Meanwhile, Filipino wrestlers closed out their campaign with two bronze medals and apologized for not hitting their target – a rare gesture in a country where the best excuse is to place the blame on somebody else.

With 223 events left in the last five days, it would appear improbable for the Filipinos to match their 38-gold haul in Laos, much less breach the 30-gold barrier, setting the stage for recriminations back home.

But Karlo Sevilla, secretary-general of the Wrestling Association of the Philippines (WAP), would have none of it.

“We in the WAP thought we could surpass our past record, but it turns out we could not even match it,” Sevilla said in a text message. “We are sorry.”

Jason Balabal, a gold medalist in Greco-Roman, took the bronze in freestyle as the wrestling team wound up with two gold, three silver and two bronze medals in 17 events – one gold less than what it achieved two years ago.

Rowing and pencak silat also ended Wednesday with the embattled Nationals garnering a combined two silvers.

Over at the Cipule Lake in West Java, Tolentino and Rodriguez lost to a better-equipped Thai tandem of Chaichana Takum and Ruthanapol Thepp in the men’s doubles sculls.

The Thais brought their own boat, reputedly two to three kilograms lighter than the one provided the Filipino pair. As a result, the Filipinos finished four seconds behind the Thais, settling for the silver.

In fencing, the women’s saber squad narrowly lost to Vietnam, 25-26, in the semifinals to settle for the bronze. The men’s foil team failed to make the medal round following a 45-42 loss to Indonesia.

The Philippines swept Indonesia late Wednesday to reach the men’s and women’s softball finals, but national coach Randy Dizer warned it’s not going to be easy.

“We really have to watch out. The gap is closing,” said Dizer after the Blu Boys survived the Indons, 2-1, late Wednesday to reach the final.

The Blu Girls had an easier time against the Indons, raining down 10 hits on their way to a 5-1 victory.

The softball finals will be held Saturday with Dizer expecting to face Indonesia again.

Tennis action resumed Thursday with veteran Cecil Mamiit and rookie Jeson Patrombon hurdling their opponents in the men’s singles.

Mamiit was forced to three sets by Vietnamese Nguyen Hoang Thien before pulling off a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win while Patrombon was all business against Cambodia’s Long Samneang, 6-0, 6-1.