Lowly archer stuns SEAG stars

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Unheralded Andrea Robles of Muntinlupa shocked multiple SEA Games gold medalists Jennifer Chan and Amaya Cojuangco in archery while Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales and Woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna of Albay swept the rapid chess golds at the close of the Philippine National Games last night.

The 20-year-old Robles, a third year Business Administration student at Ateneo de Manila, brought down Chan, who won the SEAG golds in Vientiane, Napyidaw and Singapore, and Cojuangco, a SEAG double gold medalist, to snare the women’s Olympic round gold in the compound event.

She bested Chan, 140-136, in the finals to snare the gold while Cojuangco ended up with the bronze.

“I came here not expecting anything but to just play,” said Robles, whose victory also bolstered her bid for a spot in the national team.

In chess, Gonzales, 49, downed fellow Olympiad veteran and IM Paulo Bersamina of Tandag City in the ninth and final round then nipped Marikina’s GM Darwin Laylo and Davao City’s FIDE Master Jacob Literatus in the tiebreak to clinch the gold. The troika also finished with identical seven points.