MANILA – Two more teams -- chess and cricket -- are scheduled to leave on Thursday night as the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) approved their early departure for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
Asia’s first Chess Grandmaster (GM) Eugene Torre and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Janelle Frayna led the 11-member squad joining ouk chaktrang, a Cambodian chess variant.
The ouk chaktrang competition will be held from May 3 to 9 at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.
In last SEA Games in Vietnam, the Filipino wood pushers pocketed two silver and three bronze medals.
The cricket delegation is composed of Philippine Cricket Association chief executive officer Faisal Khan and the women's team led by six-a-side captain Jennifer Olmillo Alumbro. The men's team will leave on April 29.
The AZ Group Cricket Oval will host the competition from May 2 to 11 (T50/T10) and from May 12 to 16 (T20/Sixes).
Cricket will be played in the SEAG for the second time since it was introduced in the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The sailing team composed of Josa Gonzales, Ronelio Castelio, Teogenes Villando and Jeanson Lumapas, and the windsurfing team are already in Cambodia since April 18.
Sailing and windsurfing will take place from May 1-8 in Sihanoukville Province, which is 224 kilometers away from Phnom Penh.
The Philippines captured three gold, one silver and one bronze medals in sailing during the 2019 Manila SEAG, while windsurfing delivered two golds and one silver. Both sports were excluded in the 2022 Vietnam SEAG program.
Meanwhile, the hockey, triathlon and volleyball teams together with a few PSC support staff will leave on April 29. (PNA)
