By ADRIAN STEWART CO

The Philippine Para Chess team delivered another strong finish at the 13th Asean Para Games, adding five more gold medals on Monday night, January 26, to help the country secure fourth place overall in the medal standings in Thailand.

Negense Sander Severino and Darry Bernardo led the late surge in the Blitz Time Control events, winning two gold medals each, while Kyla Jane Langue contributed one gold to cap the Para Chess team’s final haul of 12 gold, 10 silver and nine bronze medals in the tournament.

Severino claimed the Individual Blitz PI Men gold and also teamed up with Henry Roger Lopez and Jasper Rom to win the Team Blitz PI Men title.

He finished the games with five gold medals across the individual standard, rapid and blitz events, as well as two team golds in standard and blitz, in addition to a silver in the rapid team category.

Bernardo completed a sweep of all six available gold medals in the Individual B2 division by winning the standard, rapid and blitz events.

He also helped Arman Subaste and Menandro Redor earn three team gold medals.

Langue, meanwhile, captured her first gold of the Games by winning the Individual Blitz B1 Women event.

The Para Chess team also added five silver medals through Cheryl Angot (Individual Blitz PI Women), Menandro Redor (Individual Blitz B2 Men), Henry Roger Lopez (Individual Blitz PI Men), the Team Blitz PI Men trio of Angot, Cheyzer Crystal Mendoza and Jean-lee Nacita, and the Team Blitz B1 Women squad of Langue, Katrina Mangawang and Evangeline Gamao.

Jasper Rom contributed a bronze in the Individual Blitz PI Men.

Overall, the Philippines closed the Games with a record 45 gold, 37 silver and 52 bronze medals for a total of 134, surpassing its previous tally of 117 medals from Cambodia and marking its best-ever finish since joining the regional multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities./ASC, WDJ