FILIPINO pole vault ace Ernest John 'EJ' Obiena ruled the Istaf Indoor meet at the Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany Saturday in Manila.
Obiena cleared a season-best 5.78m, defeating Simen Guttormsen of Norway via countback for the gold in the 8-man competition.
Menno Vloon of the Netherlands placed third and claimed the bronze medal with a 5.70m clearance.
Obiena tried to surpass the 5.83m height but missed all three attempts.
"Brick by brick, we build," wrote Obiena in a Facebook post that included a video of his 5.78m clearance.
"Season’s best of 5.78m and a gold here in Istaf Indoor. Thanks for having me Berlin."
This is Obiena's third gold medal and fifth podium finish of the season.
The two-time Olympian started his season with a bronze finish at the Istaf Indoor Dusseldorf on January 24.
Obiena then snared a gold medal at the International Springer-Meeting in Cottbus, sharing the honor with Menno Vloon on Jan. 29.
The 30-year-old followed with another gold at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tianjin on February 7.
Obiena claimed a bronze at the Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe on Feb. 8 before his Istaf Indoor Berlin gold.
Obiena brought some Filipino culture to Berlin.
As "Bagsakan" by Parokya ni Edgar blasted through Berlin, Obiena, 30, flew past his winning height.
“And yes, Parokya ni Edgar in Berlin. Normalizing OPM as a hype song,” he added.