Opada, Balabagan show the way
JERIEL Manlimbana and Paciano Gulle crushed Team Balquin, 2-0 to top the elimination round of the 6th Kuyamis Dalawahan Chess Festival. But in the big 4 round, it was the turn of Rodney Opada and Gomobar Balabagan Jr.’s pair for MD Chess to unleash their might en route to ruling the two-day chessfest which ended on Friday morning at the Capitol Chess Park in Cagayan de Oro City.
Opada and Balabagan overpowered Team Balquin’s tandem of Jhonnel Balquin and Yasser Macadatar, then wiped out Manlimbana and Gulle of E2M Worldwide Company, 2-0 in the final round to capture the P6,000 top purse plus trophy of the Kuyamis chess team tourney.
“Walay s’werte, daug among first match sa top4 crossover pero nalaras `mi nilang Opada sa sunod nga tapada,” Gulle later told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
Gulle and Manlimbana triumped over the Army Retired duo of Primitivo Virtudazo and Benjamin Guimong to claim the second prize worth P3,000.
The Army Retired and Team Balquin occupied third and fourth, respectively, to settle for P2,000 and P1,000 each.
The rest of the top-10 team finishers—Engr. Tolinero, Avila Chess, Little Boy, Ikaw na Bahala, Gingoog City A and R. Rendon—got P500 apiece as consolation prizes of the Dalawahan tournament bankrolled by the province of Misamis Oriental through Gov. Yevgeny ‘Bambi’ Emano.
Today, Jan. 12, chess action will shift to brgy. Tablon with around P50,000 in total cash prizes awaiting the winners of the 2019 Tablon Fiesta Chess Team Tournament.
“We have participants from as far as Cebu, Davao, Iligan and Bukidnon so, bibo atong chess ugma (today) sa Tablon,” said tournament director Fr. Vic Arellano.