The Philippines will field its biggest Asian Games contingent since Hiroshima in 1994 when the 20th Asiad gets under way, with more than 450 athletes set to compete across 38 sports in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Several world-class athletes are entering the Asiad in strong form, and expectations are high that Team Philippines can top its tally from the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Filipinos won four gold medals in China three years ago, alongside two silver and 12 bronze.
We profile the nation's most likely gold medal candidates for the competition between Sept. 19 and Oct. 4 -- and also one "under-the-radar" hope.
Alex Eala (Tennis)
What more can be said about the Filipina tennis star?
Eala, the No. 18-ranked female player in the world, is coming off a monumental North American swing in which she captured her first WTA title in Washington DC before reaching the third round of the U.S. Open.
She will skip the WTA 1000 China Open to compete at the Asian Games, and should enter the tournament in top form when competition begins Sept. 27.
Eala, 21, won two bronze medals in Hangzhou, finishing third in the women's singles and mixed doubles, but she heads to Japan with a vastly different profile and more experience competing against the world's best.
The Asian Games will also give Eala another opportunity to showcase how far Filipino tennis has come.
EJ Obiena (Pole Vault)
EJ Obiena heads to Japan as the reigning Asian Games champion, and he is very much the athlete to beat in the men's pole vault albeit he may face a strong challenge.
Obiena is projected to battle Qatar's Seifeldin Abdelsalam and China's Chenyang Li for the gold medal, with his rivals having recorded career-best clearances of 5.90 meters and 5.81 meters, respectively, this season.
Still, Obiena has a significant advantage.
He holds both the Asian record at 6.00 meters, posted at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, and the Asian Games record after clearing 5.90 meters to win gold in Hangzhou.
Obiena has been competing across Europe this year, and posted a season's-best 5.91 meters in winning the Golden Sand Competition in Międzyzdroje, Poland, on Aug. 17.
The field may be closing in, but Obiena, who has won nine gold medals amid 13 podium finishes this season, remains the standard-bearer in Asian pole vaulting.
Carlos Yulo (Gymnastics)
The country's golden boy is back in the Asiad spotlight.
Carlos Yulo, a two-time Olympic gymnastics gold medalist, is expected to be the heavy favorite in the floor exercise and vault, two of his strongest events.
There is also added motivation for Yulo, as an Asian Games gold medal is one of the few major pieces missing from his decorated career.
Yulo enters Nagoya as the reigning Olympic champion in floor exercise and vault, and a multiple world and Asian champion.
Japan should also feel familiar to him, having spent significant portions of his career training in the country.
China's Zhang Boheng and Japanese standouts Shinnosuke Oka and Daiki Hashimoto headline the other contenders in artistic gymnastics.
Yulo will also have family by his side, with his younger brother Karl Eldrew Yulo set to make his own mark on one of the biggest stages in Asian sports.
Nesthy Petecio (Boxing)
Like Yulo, Nesthy Petecio is chasing the first Asian Games gold medal.
Petecio, 34, will compete in the women's 60-kilogram lightweight division after Japanese organizers removed the 57-kilogram featherweight class from the program.
The move means Petecio will step up from the division in which she won Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020 and bronze at Paris 2024.
She is expected to rely on her speed and experience to counter the height and reach advantages of naturally larger lightweight opponents.
Gilas Pilipinas (Basketball)
Gilas Pilipinas shocked the continent in 2023, ending the Philippines' six-decade drought in men's basketball competition at the Asian Games.
This time, Gilas will look to repeat history.
The team will feature 11 PBA stars: Robert Bolick, RJ Abarrientos, Adrian Nocum, Sedrick Barefield, Don Trollano, Jerrick Ahanmisi, Justin Arana, Justine Baltazar, Brandon Bates, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Zavier Lucero.
The 12th spot is being held for Justin Brownlee, the hero of the Philippines' gold-medal run three years ago, but his participation remains uncertain as he recovers from injury.
Even without Brownlee, Gilas remains loaded with talent and experience.
Led by head coach Tim Cone, the Philippines has the pieces to make another run at the top of the podium.
Annie Ramirez (Jiu-jitsu)
Annie Ramirez enters the Asian Games as one of the Philippines' brightest gold medal hopes.
Ramirez has dominated the women's 57-kilogram division on the international jiu-jitsu circuit over the past year, winning at the 2026 JJIF world championships in Abu Dhabi in August to go with titles at the 2026 Asian Jiu-Jitsu Championships and the 2026 Asian Beach Games.
She will now look to defend her Asian Games crown after winning gold in Hangzhou.
Ramirez competed in the 57-kilogram division three years ago, but drops to 52 kilograms in Japan.
The weight class may be different, but the expectation remains the same.
Chino Sy (Judo)
Chino Sy makes his Asian Games debut, but does so as a legitimate under-the-radar gold medal prospect in the men's 100-kilogram judo division.
The 25-year-old is looking to build on his double-gold performance at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in December, and he has been sharpening his game while training at Tenri University in Osaka, Japan, a renowned institution that has produced world-class judokas and Olympians.
With Sy arriving in Japan weeks before the Asian Games, he has already had time to acclimate to his surroundings.
He now gets the chance to turn that preparation into a breakthrough on the continental stage.
