Chessers, jins join elite PSC roster

MANILA, Philippines - Two more chess players and another pair of taekwondo jins are among the latest addition to the Philippine Sports Commission roster of elite athletes set to receive special training in their buildup for the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in November.

PSC chair Harry Angping yesterday said GMs Joey Antonio and Darwin Laylo will join teenage super GM Wesley So in the group which will receive a monthly stipend of P20,000 plus international exposure.

Olympiad veterans Toni Rivero and Tshomlee Go also made it to the list and should be two of the country’s best hopes for the gold in the quadrennial event.

“So far, these are the new batch of elite athletes and we hope there would be more,” said Angping.

The earlier list includes So, tennis’ Cecil Mamiit and Treat Huey, bowling’s Biboy Rivera, swimming’s Miguel Molina and Daniel Coakley, long jumper Marestella Torres, karatedo’s Marna Pabillore and billiards’ Rubilen Amit.

Angping reiterated his earlier prediction of a 10 gold-medal haul by the Filipino bets, which could be the biggest since RP harvested 14 in the 1954 Manila Asian Games for a second overall finish.

“If we continue to keep training hard and provide our athletes what they need, we’ll have a strong chance of snaring 10 gold medals in Guangzhou,” said Angping.

The PSC also enlisted a new batch of athletes, including those in chess and taekwondo, which will become part of the national training pool that would receive a monthly allowance ranging from P10,000 to P15,000.

They include GMs John Paul Gomez and Eugene Torre, who will receive P15,000 each, GMs Mark Paragua and Jayson Gonzales and IM Richard Bitoon and lady chessers Cheradine Camacho, Sherily and Shercila Cua. Catherine Perena and Beverly Mendoza, who will get P10,000 each.

Also in the early list are dance sports, bowling and rugby with 12 athletes apiece, followed by soft tennis (11), athletics and karatedo (10), shooting (8), sailing (7), rowing (5) windsurfing and lawn tennis (4), and triathlon and weightlifting (3).