JMC dominates Unit 5 chess

THE Jose Maria College (JMC) woodpushers captured three titles at the close of the Unit 5 Davao City Athletic Association (DCAA) Meet Qualifying Tournament held at the Emar Human & Environmental College in Matina Crossing over the weekend.

JMC's Bhing Joel Gimony topped the secondary boys event, while teammates Adonis Abueva and Julienne Panes ruled the elementary boys and girls divisions, respectively.

The ninth-seeded Gimony swept all his five games against No. 18 Emar's Paul Nathaniel Sango, Niaa's third-seed Mark Gil Bano, seventh-seed Lamb of God Sped Academy's Deita Juanito and University of Mindanao's Johair Gumra and Jeerald Estrella.

JMC's Januarius Panes grabbed the solo second spot with 4.5 points, while Gumra edged fellow 3.5 scorer Bano via superior tiebreak for the third spot in the 18-man field.

Abueva, for his part, bested fellow five-pointer Erbel Liwanan, 9.50-8.50, in tiebreak. Liwanan, also of JMC, placed second, while General Baptist Bible College's Gil Emmanuel Mejia finished third with 2.5 points.

Panes, meanwhile, scored perfect two points as she prevailed over Shaina Amandoron of Southern Philippines Baptist Theological Seminary and Rochelle Quimsing of UM. Quimsing and JMC's Klarize Espiritu occupied the next two spots in the Swiss System format competition.

In secondary girls, Agro-Industrial Foundation College of the Philippines bet Jessa Marie Bautista, who tallied 4.5 points along with JMC's Joerlz Gimony, had better tiebreaks (13.25-11.75) to win the crown. Joerlz settled for the runner-up honors instead while her teammate sister Erlz Joe came third with four points.

The top two players in each event will advance to the DCAA Meet that will serve as selection process for the Davao Region Athletic Association Meet en-route to the Palarong Pambansa.