Philippines bets deliver best Para Games show ever

PHNOM PENH — The Filipino chessers delivered the coup de grace in the Philippines’ best ever showing in the ASEAN Para Games.

Powered by Darry Bernardo, the valiant Pinoy woodpushers scooped up a miraculous six-gold harvest at the Royal University here yesterday that helped complete the country’s historic performance in the biennial meet.

Bernardo, a visually impaired 23-year-old spectacle from Angeles, Pampanga, took the men’s individual blitz and team B2B3 mints with eventual individual silver and bronze winners Arman Subaste and Menandro Redor to emerge the most bemedalled Filipino athlete with a sensational six-gold harvest.

“Hindi ko in-expect pero nung nanalo ako sa rapid naramdaman kong kaya ko,” the third-year Far Eastern U Tourism student, who also won in individual and team rapid and standard events, told The STAR.

Also prevailing were Cheyzer Mendoza and her women’s PI squad of Cheryl Angot and Jean Lee Nacita and Sander Severino and his brady men’s PI bunch of Felix Aguilera and Henry Lopez.

The James Infiesto-mentored team thus finished with an impressive collection of 13 golds, surpassing their 10-gold effort a year ago in Surakarta, Indonesia.

It also hiked the country’s total golden haul to 34, the best performance by the country in the 11-nation conclave for athletes with disability, with a day to go in the meet.

The Filipinos had 28 golds last year.