Chess, wushu aim for 6 golds

The Philippines can expect a combined six-gold medal haul, at least, from a sport debuting in the Southeast Asian Games and a consistent gold medal source when the country bids for a fourth-place finish in next month’s SEA Games in Vietnam.

Grandmaster Eugene Torre, skipper of a crack 11-player chess squad, predicted yesterday that the team is capable of bringing home no less than two gold medals in the sport, which will be played for the very first time in the biennial regional meet.

"With Joey (Antonio), Bong (Villamayor) and myself leading our campaign, I believe that a realistic two-gold medal harvest is doable," Torre said during the weekly SCOOP sa Kamayan session at Kamayan-West.

Wushu Federation Philippines secretary general Edwin Pimentel, on the other hand, said the 14-athlete martial arts squad is definitely going to improve on its predecessor’s four-gold medal haul the last time out in Kuala Lumpur.

Torre and Pimentel based their projections on the superb performances the two teams dished out in separate international competitions held in two different sporting arenas early this month.

"The gold medal victories of Rene (Gatalan) and Arvin (Ting) plus a pair of silvers and four bronzes our team brought home from the World Wushu Championships, I can safely say that we can be able to surpass our four-gold performance two years ago," Pimentel, who represented Wushu Federation president Julian Camacho in the forum, said.

The 52-year-old Torre led a solid 1-2-3 finish by the Filipino chessers in the recent 15 de Open Leuven International Chess Championships in Belgium.

"We’re well-prepared, thanks to the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission) and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, who both supported us get the needed international tournaments to hone us up for the Games," said Antonio, who topped the Bangkok Open last month and finished tied for second with Villamayor in Belgium.

Describing the team as one of the strongest formed in years, Torre cited the presence of reigning Asian Zonal champion, International Master Ronald Dableo, GM candidate Mark Paragua and IM Jayson Gonzales, who are all expected to measure up with the fancied squad of the host country.

"I think we’re the team to beat in both the team competitions in the standard and rapid events," said Torre, adding that the women’s team, composed of Arianne Caoili, Sheerie Joy Lomibao, Cristine Mariano, Beverly Mendoza and Kathryn Cruz, although not as star-studded as the men’s squad, can also pull off a surprise or two.