Other Pinoys flounder: Chessers stay solid at 2nd

GUANGZHOU – The Philippine chess team scored full points on the last three boards to subdue Uzbekistan,3.5-0.5, and firm up its hold of second place last night in the Asian Games at the Guangzhou Sports Institute.

That was the only exhilarating news as the Filipinos missed the medal in three events going into the last four days of competitions in the quadrennial meet.

The Philippines missed three medals – one because of foul jumps, the other because the cyclist had no partner, the third after a commanding lead in softball – on a sad, sad day that brought the medal standings of the contingent at a standstill for the third consecutive day.

The Philippines lost to Korea in extra inning, 3-4, and bowed out of the medal rounds of the women’s softball competitions at the Tianhe softball field.

Korea wiped out a 3-0 Philippine lead in the sixth inning with three RBIs (runs batted in) by Chun Hyang Na, and ended the Filipinas’ semifinal bid with a run at the bottom of the second extra inning.

Slugging it out in today’s semifinals are Chinese Taipei (5-0) vs Korea (2-3) and Japan (4-1) against China (3-2). The winners advance to the final while the losers clash for the bronze.

The Philippines ranked fifth (1-4) while Thailand is sixth and last (0-5).

Maritess Bitbit, bidding for a medal in her pet event, found no chance at all to carry a solitary fight against the paired entries in the 100km road race in cycling, and finished 13th, barely 2.71 seconds behind the gold medal winner in a race won only in the 3-m sprint to the finish line.

And in the Aoiti track and field oval, Marestella Torres found her training in Germany go for naught as she lacked the training in the finals days of her preparation because of the unplayable facilities at the Ultra on her return to the Philippines.

She did a good 4.39 meters, the longest in the competitors’ first attempt, but flubbed all her remaining tries.

Even her 4.39m mark could have been good for the bronze but lost in the tiebreak which was based on the second best attempt.

Running 16th in the medal race that China has already won this early, the Philippine contingent is hoping for semfinal wins today of boxers AnnieAlbani and siblings Rey and Victorio Saludar. At the track, Rene Herrera makes a bid in the 3,000m steeplechase.

Wrestler Jerry Angana, unaware of the high quality of competition, was relegated to the repechage of the 55 kgs category after losing badly to Kyong Il Yang of Korea, 0-4.

In an Olympic sport that only a handful of Filipinos practice – canoe/kayak – Alex Generalao, a neophyte in international games, was fourth among five (4:01.967) and so was Dany Funelas (4:28.672) in the two semifinal heats where six others had already advanced to the final Monday afternoon.

The two try their fortunes in the 200m semi-final heats later Tuesday afternoon.

In the penultimate round six, the foursome wants to hit Uzbekistan on the jugular to ensure a place in the semifinal.

“We need this win badly and based on our recent performance, there is a strong chance for a medal finish,” said chess official Willy Abalos.

The delegation was alarmed as Rexel Ryan Fabrega, partner of Jaime Asok in synchronized diving, figured in a vehicular accident with his coach on the way to the competition venue Monday afternoon. The athletes’ bus carrying Fabriga and his coach apparently collided with a car and the Filipinos decided to proceed to the venue instead of seeking immediate medical care.

Based on the medical bulletin issued by team physician Dr. Alejandro Pineda on Tuesday, Fabriga sustained a soft tissue injury on the right shoulder and failed to finish his third dive and underwent magnetic resonance imaging tests and x-rays of the cervical spines in the Games’ Village polyclinic.

Left to carry the cudgels for the team are Nino Carog and Zardo Domenios, who were competing in diving events last night.