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PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY September 1 - 15, 2016
SW-Masters ladies try to extend
PAL Interclub reign in Baguio
SPORTS
Manila
SouthwoodsMasters, the most dominant
force in Philippine Airlines (PAL)
Ladies Interclub history, shoots
to extend its unprecedented reign
in the centerpiece Championship
Division to a sixth straight year
next month when the 11th
edition tees off at up-and-down
Camp John Hay in Baguio.
The
Carmona-based
parbusters will be fielding in a
rock-solid squad and will be
leaving nothing to chance, with
a slew of young international
campaigners led by Pauline del
Rosario and Sofia Chabon taking
the cudgels for the team in the
absence of Abby Arevalo
Arevalo, who won the
individual championship in
Bacolod last year and powered
Southwoods-Masters to a onepoint victory over Cebu Country
Club on the strength of a
tournament-best four-under-par
68 at Marapara, is in the United
States on a golf scholarship with
San Jose State University.
But that doesn’t mean
that SW-Masters will be lacking
in talent, with Mikhaela Fortuna
also in roster for the four-to-play,
three-to-count event spread
from Oct. 4-7.
Cebu CC will also be
without its top gun last year, Lois
Kaye Go, who is also studying in
the US as the club pins its hopes
on sisters Irina and Junia Gabasa
and Riko and Ryoko Nagai.
Del Rosario looms as top
favorite in the individual race,
with her talent and skill level ripe
for a stint in the pros despite
being a teener.
Last week, Del Rosario
narrowly lost in a four-player
playoff for the ICTSI Ladies
Sherwood Hills Challenge won
by Princess Superal, a former
teammate in the Philippine Team
who won her debut as a pro.
Del
Monte,
another
perennial contender for the title,
will be fielding in a relatively
unknown team even as a total
of 32 teams, counting three
international sides, will be seeing
action in four total divisions
including
the
Founders,
Sportswriters and Friendship
brackets.
Luzon will be represented
by a total of 17 teams with the
Lady Eagles of Australia fielding
in two squads. Port Moresby will
be the third international team.
‘Aqua boy’ pockets bronze and thousand bucks
Angelo Macaraig made
sure he won’t be going home
empty-handed at the conclusion
of 2016 BC Provincials held in
Port Coquitlam.
‘Aqua boy’ lived up to his
billing after a spectacular finish
en route to
capturing
bronze with
a
time
of
36,69
seconds in
50 m back
stroke in the
three-day
swim meet.
‘Finally
hard work
pays
off,”
says
dad
D e e d e e
referring to
his
son’s
o v e r a l l
in
the
said
performance
competition.
Deedee together with his
wife Criselyn were in attendance
alongside other members of the
family and friends in the entire
duration of Angelo’s campaign.
Angelo’s parents were very
much satisfied on his overall
performance where the elevenyear-old lad places fifth in 50 m
breast stroke (41.7 seconds), 7th
in the 50 m individual medley
(1:19.63 seconds) and 11th in
100 m freestyle (1:11.52).
His effort and perseverance
was the biggest factor in
salvaging the third spot against
a bunch of tough competitors in
this tournament.
“A good run and Angelo
almost got the silver with just
a couple of meters behind the
eventual second placer,” dad
reiterates.
A
rewarding
accomplishment also made
Angelo a thousand bucks richer
in this year’s edition of BC
Provincials.
“A big thank you to all who
By Alex Mino
supported us
during Team
Angelo’s
campaign
whether we
win or lose.
Your words
of wisdom
were
vital
,” the elder
Macaraig
added.
“
We
hope
that
you’ll
continue to
support us
in our future
competition, again maraming
salamat po.”
Angelo will try his luck in
the international stage as he
joins the Philippine Swimming
League (PSL) in Tokyo, Japan
this coming October.
Last year the young lad
wore Canada swimming cap
in his Philippines stint, but this
time he’ll wear the one with a
Philippine logo come October
22-23.
Frayna becomes PH’s 1st Woman Grandmaster
BAKU has turned out to
be a chess milestone for the
Philippines.
Janelle Mae Frayna finally
got the last norm to become
the country’s first woman
grandmaster by drawing her
game against Davaademberel
Normin-Erdene of Mongolia
in Sunday’s ninth round of the
Baku Chess Olympiad.
Frayna and her foe split
the point in 33 moves of a
French Defense, giving the
Filipina 6 points out of 9 games
in a field that had three woman
grandmasters and one woman
with the male International
Master title.
Though the Philippines lost
1.5-2.5 to Mongolia, Frayna’s
historic quest more than made
up for it.
“Good news for our country.
I’m proud to announce that WIM
Janelle Mae Frayna achieved the
third and last result to become
the first Woman Grandmaster
from the Philippines,” said GM
Jayson Gonzales, the women’s
team skipper and Frayna’s
personal trainer and coach at
Far Eastern University.
Frayna’s title will be
confirmed by the FIDE, the
ruling body for world chess.
Eugene Torre won a wild
game against Diego Flores and
Ino Sadorra outmanuevered
Sandro Mareco as the Philippines
scrambled to draw Argentina
after Paulo Bersamina and John
Paul Gomez lost.
Torre has eight points out
of nine rounds and is running
third for the best prize on Board
Three behind Zoltan Almasi of
Hungary and Wesley So, the
former Philippine champion,
who now plays for the US.
The men’s team which now
in 56th place meets Scotland
in Monday night’s 10th and
penultimate round, while the
women’s side, now in 28th place,
clashes with Italy, aiming nothing
less than a win to remain in
contention for a Top 10 finish.
Frayna will be fielded
against the Italians as she
pursues the men’s International
Master title.
Frayna came close to
claiming the title after she led
with three rounds to go in the
World Juniors in India a few
weeks back and faltered in the
stretch.
She was not to be denied
this time.
WIM
Janelle
Jodilyn
Fronda’s
defeat
to
IM
Tubswhintugs’ Batchimeg on
board two decided the PH’s
doom as Catherine Secopito
and Shania Mae Mendoza halved
the point with WGM Aoltan Ulzii
Enkhtuul and WIM Uuganbayar
Lkhamsuren on boards three
and four.
The 64-year-old Torre now
has an undefeated record of
eight points on seven wins and
two draws, the highest points by
any individual player in the 11round tournament.
But Torre is running fifth
in the battle for the gold medal
on board three, which will be
determined by whoever ends up
with the highest performance
rating, behind a stellar cast that
included GM Wesley So, who is
representing the United States.
Russian
GM
Ian
Nepomniachtchi currently leads
the way with 2887 followed by
Hungarian GM Zoltan Almasi’s
2871 while French GM Laurent
Fressinet at No. 4 with 2857.
“Hopefully, Wesley and I
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could end up as board medallists
and I’m also thinking of helping
the team win matches,” said
Torre, whose lone board medal
came in the form a silver in the
1974 Nice Olympiad, where he
eventually emerged Asia’s first
ever GM. (MS)