WATCH: PH’s SEA Games mascot Pami present at flame handover

SEAG Games mascot Rimau and Pami during the SEAG flame handover from Malaysia to Philippines | @junavINQ pic.twitter.com/2bpJ36O0RC

— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) October 3, 2019

The Philippines officially received the symbolic Southeast Asian Games torch from the 2017 host Malaysia in a flame handover ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Pami, the official mascot of the Philippines for the SEA Games, helped usher in the SEA Games torch along with Malaysia’s mascot Rimau, which was inspired by the Malayan Tiger, from the 2017 Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian and Philippines Olympics Council representatives pose with 29th Southeast Asian Games mascot (left) and 30th Southeast Asian Games mascot (right) during the Flame Handover Ceremony for the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. Philippines will be the host city of the 30th SEA Games on Nov. 30 – Dec. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/FL Wong)

Pami, a bubbly looking sponge ball featuring the country’s tricolors, comes from the Filipino word “pamilya” or family in English.

Thousands of athletes from eleven countries will see action here in the SEA Games, which kick off on November 30 followed by nearly two weeks of competition held across several cities in Luzon.