Villavieja tows Region VI bets to Asian Indoor Games tryouts

MANILA, Philippines - Butch Villavieja emerged as the topnotcher in the Region VI eliminations for the Asian Indoor Games held at the Cabagnot Training Center in Kalibo, Aklan. Villavieja finished the seven-round competition with 5.5 points on five wins, one draw and one loss to rule the event and tow nine others to the national semifinals scheduled Aug. 4-8 in Manila. Actually, Villavieja finished in a six-way tie for first place but clinched top honors by virtue of higher tiebreak score. Joining Villavieja were Horizon Villanueva, Jhonnel Balquin, Ted Ian Montoyo, Rommel Ganzon and Paulo James Florendo, who also finished with 5.5 points. Rounding out the top 10 finishers were Allen Mirano, Ritchie Evangelista, Antonio Chavez Jr. and Recante Tiauson, all with five points. NCFP regional director Wilfredo Neri said the 10 regional qualifiers will move on to the next stage of the tryouts for the RP team to the third Asian Indoor Games in Halongbay, Vietnam on October 30-November 8. The other regional eliminations are: Region I in Dagupan City (May 2-4), Region III in Balanga, Bataan (May 9-11); Region IV in Tagaytay City (June 6-8), Region V in Bicol (June 13-15), Region II in Isabela (June 13-15), Region VII (June 27-29), Region XIII/CARAGA in Butuan City (June 27-29), Region VIII (July 4-6), Region XI (July 11-13), Region X in Gingoog City (July 17-19) and Region XII, (July 25-27). The country's grandmasters will join the top 30 qualifiers in the National Capital Region and the regional qualifiers for the grand finals scheduled on Aug. 26. –GMANews.TV