MANILA, Philippines -- President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday hailed the country's hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games last December 2019, which was besieged with controversy but ended with Filipino athletes winning a record number of gold medals.

In his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa, Duterte commended the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee, the Philippine Sports Commission, and the Philippine Olympic Committee for a successful hosting of the SEA Games.

"Our athletes prevailed," Duterte said.

"More than that, we fostered pride, patriotism, genuine sportsmanship, and camaraderie in our Southeast Asian brothers and sisters," he added. "Indeed, we won as one."

Filipino athletes dominated the 11-nation meet, winning a record 149 gold medals.

The country's hosting was not without major blunders, however.

There were controversies right from the very start, with accusations of corruption against the organizing committee. The budget for the event was scrutinized at the Senate -- particularly the P55 million spent for the cauldron that bore the symboling SEA Games flame.

Organizers also had to race against time in order to complete the venues, and PHISGOC had to apologize ahead of the opening ceremony after several football teams complained of travel, transportation, and hotel issues. "Kikiam" became a trending topic as well, after the coach of the Philippine women's football team claimed that they were served the popular street food for breakfast at their hotel.

The triumph of Filipino athletes took attention off the early miscues, with the heroism of surfer Roger Casugay, in particular, gaining praise from Duterte. Casugay had opted to give up his own shot at a gold medal to save an Indonesian competitor who was swept in giant waves, prompting a message of thanks from Indonesia president Joko Widodo.

Duterte also hailed the creation of the National Academy of Sports, saying that it will "give our deserving student-athletes the training and the support they need to excel in their chosen field of endeavors."

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website).