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Philippine Master Ivan Travis Cu secures back-to-back wins in Open U12

by Marlon Bernardino

MANILA, Philippines—National Master Ivan Travis Cu of the Philippines scored back-to-back wins after beating Luka Kiladze of Georgia in the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets & Youth – Open 12 and under online chess championship  virtually held at Tornelo Platform.
The 12-year-old Cu, a Grade 7 pupil of Xavier School in San Juan City,  triumphed using the black pieces after 34 moves of a Modern Benoni defense in Monday’s 6th round.
Cu improved to a total of 5 points to share 5th to 14th place with Reja Neer Manon of Bangladesh,  Emmanuel Dentchouk of the USA, Rajkhowa Mrinmoy of India, Emir Sharshenbekov of Kyrgyzstan, Yu Tian Poh of Malaysia) Kshatriya Nitin Vekhande of India, Nikolaos Sitsanis of Greece, Leo Lin of Canada and Aliaksandr Hvozdz of Belarus.
Cu earlier brought down Leonid Efimov of Russia with the white pieces after 27 moves of an English Opening in Sunday’s fifth round in the 200-player’s field World Chess Federation (FIDE) Championship.
Jahandar Azadaliyev of Azerbaijan checkmated Dani Tabuenca Mendataurigoitia of Spain after 44 moves of an Old Benoni defense to grab solo leadership with perfect 6 points, a half point ahead with CM  Edgar Mamedov of Kazakhstan, Ern Jie Anderson Ang of Malaysia and AIM Ethan Vaz of India who tote 5.5 points each.

Meanwhile, National Master Al-Basher Buto of the Philippines defeated David Akhmedov in the fifth round then split the point with Francisco Fiorito of Argentina in the sixth round to raise his total 4.5 points, good for a tie 15th to 28th places.
Not everything was good news for local chess fans, though, with National Master Christian Gian Karlo Tade-Arca of the Philippines failing to sustain the momentum of his three straight victories, bowing to CM Tran Gia Phuc Pham of Vietnam in the fourth round, halving the point with Erekle Tabatadze of Georgia in the fifth round then losing to Madhvendra Pratap Sharma of India in the sixth round.
With the loss, the Panabo City, Davao del Norte bet Arca was stuck at 3.5 points and dropped into a tie for 61st to 74th place.
The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), headed by President/Chairman Rep. Prospero “Butch” Arreza Pichay Jr., is supporting the campaign of the triumvirate Cu, Buto and Arca as part of its continuing program to train and develop outstanding young players

Standings after Round 6: (200 players, Open 12 and under)
6 points—Jahandar Azadaliyev (Azerbaijan)
5.5 points—CM  Edgar Mamedov (Kazakhstan), Ern Jie Anderson Ang (Malaysia), AIM Ethan Vaz (India)
5 points—Reja Neer Manon (Bangladesh),  Emmanuel Dentchouk (USA), Rajkhowa Mrinmoy (India), Emir Sharshenbekov (Kyrgyzstan), Yu Tian Poh (Malaysia), Kshatriya Nitin Vekhande (India), NM Ivan Travis Cu (Philippines), Nikolaos 44725 Sitsanis (Greece), Leo Lin (Canada), Aliaksandr Hvozdz (Belarus)

Under 12 Open and Under 16 Girls Categories

Sri Lankans Haritha Hansana and Sandeepani Tharushi doing well

Haritha Hansana (left) of Rahula College, Matara is in a good position having 3 points out of 4 games at the Under 12 Yrs Open event of the FIDE Online World Youth Chess Championship 2021. Hansana beat Loiis Khoo (Norway), Noam Ostrovesky (Israel) and Thimothy Xie(USA) but lost to  Dentchouk Emmanuel (USA) in the last round.

Sandeepani Tharushi (above right) of Devi Balika Vidyalaya also scored 3 points out of 4 in the under 16 Girls category event which is also running parallel to the under 12 open event. Sandeepani beat Adity Anant (Cyprus), Alexandra Munos (Nicaragua), Gabriel Salarza (Peru) and lost to Ruiyang Yan (USA) in the 2^nd round to get 3 points.

Other Sri Lankans, Thehara Galagedara (Musaeus College), Aloka Hettiarachchi (Nalanda College) have 2 points each in under 12 Yrs Open event while Desandi Dhihansa Gamage (Sirimavo Bandaranayake Vidyalaya) and Piyumi Uthpala Amaratunge (JMC International, Kaluthara) have 1 ½ points and 1 point respectively. All play 6 more rounds in next 3 days.

The FIDE Online World Youth Rapid Chess Championship conducted by the International Chess Federation and organized by the Georgian Chess Federation is in progress from 1^st of August to 30^th of August 2021 at Tornelo platform. The Rapid Chess time control of 10 minutes + 3 seconds is used for the event which is organized in 10 categories as under 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years Open and Girls. Each event is having 10 rounds and distributed as

1^st to 5^th           – Under 10 Open and Under 18 Girls

6^th to 10^th        – Under 12 Open and Under 16 Girls

11^th to 15^th      – Under 14 Open and Under 14 Girls

16^th to 20^th      – Under 16 Open and Under 12 Girls

21^st to 25^th       – Under 18 Open and Under 10 Girls

 To promote handicapped chess in Sri Lanka

On 4 August 2021, German Ambassador Holger Seubert donated 8 electronic chess sets to the Sri Lanka Chess Federation (SLCF) at a handover ceremony in his residence. The donation from Germany aims to assist the promotion of chess within disadvantaged groups in Sri Lanka.  The state of the art chess equipment from Germany, worth 1.5 million LKR, has been designed to cater for handicapped persons in particular.

During the handover ceremony, Ambassador Seubert declared that the donation is a result of an initiative started by the President of the Sri Lanka Chess Federation, Mr. Luxman Wijesuriya. Germany is delighted to be able to support this valuable and praiseworthy initiative. On a personal note, the Ambassador added that being an avid chess player himself, he is particularly impressed by SLCF’s charitable work and its firm commitment to promote chess in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lank Chess Federation President Luxman Wijesuriya (left) plays with German Ambassador Holger Seubert

In his words of thanks, the President of the Chess Federation pointed out that it’s a great support being a Chess player himself, his Excellency, the ambassador and the Federal Republic of Germany have given to the Chess Federation for our project. Chess in Sri Lanka has spread around the country and the thinking of Chess Federation is to spread the game among different communities. While thanking them once again I wish to invite everyone to join us to develop the Nation using Chess as an educational tool!

# # #

For further information, please contact,

Vishma Wickramawardane

Press Office, German Embassy

+94-258 04 31 ext. 219

press.german.embassy@gmail.com

Sixty students from 23 countries are participating in the FIDE International Organizers Seminar presented by the Asian Chess Federation under the auspices of the FIDE Events Commission, 6th-9th August 2021 on Zoom.

FIDE Events Commission Chairman Ozgur Solakoglu of Turkey will lecture 6th August on the Regulations of the FIDE Events Commission (Mission, Members, Events Regulations, Bid Procedures).

Asian Chess Federation Executive Board Member Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, Secretary of the FIDE Rules Commission and former president of the Iran Chess Federation, shall lecture on FIDE Rating and Title Regulations on 7th August.

FIDE Rules Commission Chairman Abdulrahim Mahdi of the United Arab Emirates will lecture on FIDE Online Chess Regulations on 8th August.

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Asian Chess Federation Executive Director Casto Abundo of the Philippines will lecture on Event Management, How to Organize Chess Tournaments, on 9th August.

The lectures will be followed by an exam which is required for the International Organizer title.

Philippines’ Paez keeps share of lead

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—Woman Candidate Master Alexandra Sydney Paez of the Philippines battled to a draw with Woman International Master Govhar Beydullayeva of Azerbaijan and and kept a share of the lead after the fifth round of the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets & Youth 2021 chess championship on Tuesday, August 3, 2021 virtually held at Tornelo Platform.
The online Arena International Master Paez, a Grade 12 student of Malayan College of Laguna, split the point  with the higher-rated Beydullayeva who handled the disadvantageous black pieces after 38 moves of Catalan Opening.
The draw, however, was enough to keep Paez in the thick of the fight for the leadership board in the Girls 18 and under with 4.5 points on four wins and one draw in this 104-player FIde-World Chess Federation competition.
The 17-year-old campaigner from Cabuyao City, Laguna, one of the top players of Mayor Atty. Rommel “Mel” Gecolea is tied for the lead with WIM Ngoc Thuy Duong Bach of Vietnam, WFM Aliaksandra Tarasenka of Belarus and WCM Bristy Mukherjee of India.
In the Open 10 and under section,  National Master Oshrie Jhames “OJ” Constantino Reyes of Santa Rita, Pampanga checkmated Gorkem Unsal of Turkey after 60 moves of Sicilian defense while Phil Martin Casiguran of Caloocan City yielded to Dimitri Aeschbacher of Switzerland after 34 moves of Ruy Lopez Opening.
Reyes whose stint here is being supported by Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda and Vice-Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda raise his total 4 points while Caisguran remains at 3.5 points.

Sri Lanka’s Onlei scores 4 out of 6 at the halfway Mark

Oneli Vithanawasam (photo above) of Lyceum International School, Wattala is in a fair position with 4 points out 6 games  tied in 13^th position in the under 18 Girls event of the above Championships. Oneli beat Ahmed Walijah (Top seed in the event, Bangladesh), Kazi Zarin Tasnim(Bangladesh), Chua Jia-Tien(Malaysi), Drew with Ilyina Lada and Sai Divya M and lost only 1 game to Pipia Ekaterine(Georgia) In her 6 games. Nemindi Linaya Ramanayake of Bandaranayake Central College is having 2 ½  points out of 6 games.

RB Sethum Samaraweera of Richmond College scored 3 ½ points out of 6 games in the under 10Yrs Open event, After having 2 bad games at the start losing to Isai Alveraize(Bolivia) and D Altensoyombo (Mongolia) he recovered with a forfeit point with Daniel Efraim(Estonia), Kim Listratov(Russia) and Rashid Rayan (Bangladesh) with a draw against Data Qulabegashvili(Georgia). KG Wimalarathne(Kingswood College) of has 2 ½ points and DDLD Dandeniya of Maliyadeva College has 2 both out of 6 games.

The FIDE Online World Cup 2021 – Youth and Cadets conducted by the International Chess Federation is organized by the Georgian Chess Federation this year. The World Cup has 10 category events for under 10, 12,14,16 and 18 years Open and Girls. The event is held online in the Tornelo platform from 1^st to 30^th August 2021 with 10 rounds per each category. The event started with two categories, under 10 Open and under 18 Girls to have it from 1^st to 5^th having 2 games each. Other categories also will follow giving 5 days per two categories, one open and one Girls.

A total of 227 players in the under 10 Open and 104 players in the under 18 yrs Girls event from 108 countries are participating in the event. Four more games are expected in Tornelo platform on 4^th and 5^th of August 2021.

You may get the tournament details from the following links

https://chess-results.com/tnr565782.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=6&flag=30&zeilen=99999

https://chess-results.com/tnr565791.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=6&fedb=SRI&flag=30

By Marlon Bernardino

MANILA, Philippines—Woman Candidate Master Alexandra Sydney Paez of the Philippines remained undefeated after four rounds of action in the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets & Youth 2021 chess championship on Monday, August 2, 2021 virtually held at Tornelo Platform.

The 17 years old Paez, an online Arena International Master, one of the top players of Cabuyao City mayor Atty. Rommel “Mel” Gecolea, downed Woman FIDE Master Viviana Galvan Cipriani of Spain for her fourth straight win to remain of the top spot together with Woman International Master Ngoc Thuy Duong Bach of Vietnam and Woman FIDE Master Aliaksandra Tarasenka of Belarus who totes perfect 4.0 points in the Girls 18 and under.
Paez, a Grade 12 student of Malayan College of Laguna, needed 60 moves of an English Opening to checkmate the Spanish WFM who fell to a group tied at ninth spot.
“It was a very intense match,” said Paez, who beat  Shane Visser of South Africa in the first round, Woman FIDE Master Chandratreya Prachiti of India in the second round and Woman FIDE Master Laman Hajiyeva of Azerbaijan in the third round.
“I hope to do well in this prestigious FIDE online event,” She added.
Phil Martin Casiguran of Caloocan City and National Master Oshrie Jhames “OJ” Constantino Reyes of Santa Rita, Pampanga toppled their respective rivals to remain in contention in the Open 10 and under.
Casiguran subdued Jon Bocos Delgado of Spain in 41 moves of a King’s Indian defense while Reyes whose stint here is being supported by Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda and Vice-Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda checkmated Antoni Radzimski of Poland in 42 moves of French defense.
Casiguran was tied at tenth spot with 3.5 points while Reyes joints 19th spot with 3.0 points.

Northern (Northern, North Central & Eastern) Open event and Southern (Galle, Matara & Hambanthota) – Women’s event

Rishiikaran and Minudi win outright!

Rishiikaran Sivaskaran (photo above) of Jaffna Hindu College displayed excellent performance, just giving a draw to Janukshan and winning all other 7 games with Methiyugan Kavinaya, Keishan Deijan, Rithika Shamy, Sanjey Haneshkumar, Perinpanayagam Loghi, Vathmira Geesan and Nuwana Chamara respectively to score an unbeaten 7 ½ points to win the Championship in the SL National Online (Novices Division Chess Championship 2021 – Northern Open event. His performance broght him the Gold Medal with the entry to the Major Division as number 1 player from Northern Region.

Adshayan Senthilnathan (above left) of Jaffna Hindu College and Sajeev K (above right) of Jaffna Hindu College are placed as second and third respectively after obtaining 7 points out of possible 8 games not because of different in total score but due to the tie-brake system.

Minudi Devindi Ranasinghe (photo above) of Dharmasoka College was crowned as the winner of the Southern Women’s event. Except fourth round in which she shared the game with Sethumsa, she was able to defeat all other opponents, Onaya Chenuthi, Nithuni Pehesara, Sanuli Dulanya, Dinuli Nimansa, Esandi Sinhansa and Sethumlee Devhara who led the way until the last moment.

Sethumli Devhara Palliyage (above left) of Sangamittha BV, Galle placed second and out of three players who obtainer 5.5 points, Namya Dinethmi Thilakawardana (above right) of St. Tomas Girls High School, Matara was able to win the third place according to tie-braker. Nethuni Pehasara(Sujtha Vidyalaya, Matara) and Sinali Weeraratne(Sujatha Vidyalaya, Matara)  had to satisfy with 4^th and 5^th places.

From the start of the day the tournament looked so interesting. At the end of the Fifth round of Northern Open event, Nuwan Chamara maintained in the peak by winning against Mihisara Senhas while Rishiikaran and Wihanga Dilantha followed him by defeating their respective opponents. In the sixth round, Nuwan Chamara was able to push Wihanga Dilantha to the third place and Rishiikarana climbed to the second place by defeating Vathmira Geesan. In the next round two top runners, Nuwan Chamara and Rishiikarana were paired and Rishiikaran was able to move to the front by defeating Nuwan Chamara. Meanwhile Dilantha who was in the third place at the end of the sixth round had satisfied with 5 points with the second consecutive lost in the tournament against Mathuka Tharuka and with that win Methuka Tharuka move to the third place. At the end of the seventh round, Rishiikaran required only half a point and he was able to successfully achieve that target by sharing his game against Janukshan B in the last round. Meanwhile Adshayan and Sajeev K was able to steal the second and third spots in the leader board from ones who were in those spots at the end of the seventh round.

At the end of the Fifth round Sethumlee was able to take the lead of the Southern Women’s event by defeating Esandi Sihansa while Nemya Dinethmi and Minudi Devindi followed her with 4.5 points. In the sixth round, Sethumlee was able to protect her throne by defeating Namya Dinethmi while Minudi was able to climb to the second place by defeating Esandi Sihansa. At the end of the seventh and the last round, Minudi was able to steal the throne from Sethumlee and Dinethmi Namya climbed to the third place by defeating her respective opponent.

The Novices Division of the Sri Lanka Online Rapid National Chess Championships 2021 is planned to have in 7 regions, Western I (Colombo District), Western II (Gampaha and Kaluthara District), Central Province, Wayamba Province, Southern Province, Sabaragamuwa region (Sabaragamuwa and Uwa Provinces) and Northern Region (Northern, Eastern and North Central Provinces).

Top 29 players of the Northern Region Open and the Top 17 players of the Southern Province Women’s events will be qualified to the appropriate Majors Division Chess Championships to be held from late August 2021.

The Inaugural Sri Lanka Online National Rapid Chess Championship Cycle 2021 consists of 4 stages. The Cycle is started with the Novices events in 7 regions followed by the Major Division Events in the same regions. The Top players will join with the selectees from Major Division events in the National B event. The Top 14 players of the National B will join the current National Chess Champion and the Top rank player in the 15 round, Round Robin event in the 1st stage of the finals while a knocked out of top four players of Round Robin event will be played as 2nd stage of the finals. The same structure will be followed in the Women Event as well.

The event details are available at the following links:

http://chess-results.com/tnr571519.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=4

http://chess-results.com/tnr571517.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=4

The Wayamba (Open) and the Sabaragamuwa (Women) events of the Inaugural Sri Lanka Online National Rapid Chess Championship Cycle 2021 will be held on 7^th and 8^th of August 2021 at the chess.com flatform. Follow the Chess Federation FB/ or the Web for registration.

Indian boys won the gold medals in the Under-7, 9 and 15 divisions while Iran won Under 11 and 13 divisions, and Mongolia won the Under-17 age group in the Asian Schools Chess Championships held over the weekend of 29-31 July on Tornelo. Visit chess-results.com for round by round standings and to download games. See story of team results. See story of Girls Championships.

Here is Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal Tally of Girls and Boys events combined for all 12 events U-7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17.

In a portent of the future, six Indian boys finished in the top 6 places in the youngest Under-7 age group. Chauhan Avirat (above left) scored 8 points for the gold medal, conceding only one loss to compatriot Upadhyaya Advik who finished in a tie with Bathula Aarush (above center) and Ramakrishnan Rahul (above right) at 7.5 points each. Aarush won silver and Advik the bronze by tie break.

In the Under-9 division, Saxena Apaar of India (above left) scored 8 points from 7 wins and 2 draws to finish alone in first place for the gold. Chen Jun-Wei (above center) of Chinese Taipei and Ganguly Aryaman (above right) of India tied with 7.5 points each for silver and bronze, respectively, by tie break.

Sina Movahed of Iran (above left) also scored 8 points for gold in the Under-11 division followed by compatriot Armin Gholami (above center) with 7.5 points for silver. Four players tied with 7 points each. Krishna Goutham (above right) of India won the bronze by tie break over Steven Tan of Indonesia, Rajkhowa Mrinmov of India dn Rustam Borzov of Kazakhstan.

Hossein Mohammadi Akbarabadi of Iran (above left) scored 8 points to win gold in the Under-13 division followed by Singh Sahib of India (above right) for silver and Bakhrom Bakhrillaev of Uzbekistan for bronze in a tied with 7.5 points each.

International Master M. Prahesh of India (above left) and teammate Shubh Kapur (above center) scored 8 points each in the Under-15 division. Pranesh won gold by tie break over Shubh. Compatriot FIDE Master S. Harshad (above right) scored 7.5 points for the bronze.

Candidate Master Nyamsuren of Mongolia won gold in the Under-17 division after winning the tie break in 3-way tie at 7.5 points each. Alireza Bosagh Zadeh of Iran (above left) won silver and Kamotra Soham of India (above right) won the bronze.

Awards ceremonies will be held on Saturday, 7^th August for individual and team awards.

Indian teams won the Under-7, 9, 11 and 15 age categories while Uzbekistan won the Under-13 age group and Iran won the Under-17 age group in the boys division of the Asian Schools Chess Championships over the 29-31 July weekend on Tornelo. Close to 900 boys and girls from 25 countries saw action. See report of Girls Division. Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and to download games.

Iran team-A won the under-17 team championship with 26 points for the gold followed by India-B with 25 points for silver and Philippines-A with 23 points for bronze. India-A finished with 24 points but regulations state that a country can win only one team trophy per category.

The Iran team-A is composed of Alireza Bosagh Zadeh, Hamed Behroozi Moghaddam, Mahan Ramezani and Arian Baradaran Tamadon. India Team-B is composed of Kamotra Soham, L. Srihari, Vedant Nagarkatte and Chouhan Vrashank. Philippines team-A is composed of Jeremy Marticio, jave Mareck Peteros, Robick Vohn K. Villa and Jasper Faeldonia.

India-A won the under-15 age category by a wide margin with 29 points for gold followed by Indonesia team-A with 23.5 for silver and Iran team B with 23 points for the bronze. Actually India-B garnered 24 points but shared the award of India Team-A. The India Team-A is composed of IM M. Pranesh, Kapur Shubh, FM S. Harshad and Shiv Shome.

In the Under-13 category, Uzbekistan team-A won gold with 27 points followed by Iran-A with 25.5 and India team-B with 25 points. The Uzbek team-A is composed of Bakhrom Bakhrillaev, Akbarali Abdulkhakimov, Miraziz Kuziev and Shakhrombek Karimov.

India team-A dominated the under-11 category with 26 points for gold followed by Iran team-A with 23.5 points for silver and Kyrgyzstan with 21.5 for bronze. The India team-A is composed of Krishna Goutham, Rajkhowa Mrinmoy, G. Aakash and Ethan Vaz. The teams of India-B scored 24 points and Iran-B scored 22 points and share the awards of their sister teams.

India team-B won the under-9 category with 26 points followed by Mongolia with 24.5 and Iran-A with 23.5. The India team-B is composed of Ganguly Aryaman, Pranav Mithun, Arpit Shah Aarav and Akhil Prasad Sri. India-A tied at 24.5 points and shared the award of their sister team.

India team-A won the under-7 category with 28 points for gold followed by Iran-A with 21.5 for silver and Philippines-A with 20 points for bronze. The India team-A is composed of Chauhan Avirat, Ramakrishnan Rahul, Arun Isshaan and Johari Tanush. India-Ba finished with 26.5 points and shares the award with their sister team. Iran-B finished with 20 points and shared the award of their sister team

by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—Jerlyn Mae San Diego (above right) of Dasmarinas City, Cavite and Woman National Master Jersey Marticio (above left) of Cabuyao City, Laguna defeated their last round opponents, respectively, to share the top honors at the conclusion of the Selection Event for 2021 FIDE Online World Chess Olympiad – Grand Finals (Girls) Division Wednesday held online at Chess.Com Platform.

The 16 year old San Diego, one of the top players of Dasmarinas Chess Academy put up by Rep. Elpidio “Pidi” Barzaga Jr. and national coach FM Roel Abelgas toppled Kate Nicole Ordizo of Alaminos City, Pangasinan.

The 14 year old Marticio, on the other hand, under the care of Cabuyao City Mayor Atty. Rommel “Mel” Gecolea, Sports Director of Cabuyao City Mr. Jerome Paul Lualhati, Cabuyao City Chess Committee Head and Philippine Executive Chess Association President Dr. Fred Paez, routed Woman National Master Kaye Lalaine Regidor of Santa Rosa City, Laguna.

With the win, San Diego and Marticio both finished 8 points apiece in nine outings and will thus lead the country’s girls team to the second FIDE Online Olympiad slated August 13 to September 15, 2021.

Also making the team were IM Paulo Bersamina and GM Darwin Laylo for the men’s, WNM Francois Marie Magpily and WGM Janelle Mae Frayna for the women, IM Michael Concio Jr. and FM Alekhine Nouri for the boys.

Tournament director is FST/GM Jayson O. Gonzales while Chief Arbiter is IA Reden Cruz.

Final Standings: (Girls Division)
8 points—Jerlyn Mae San Diego, WNM Jersey Marticio
5.5 points—Kate Nicole Ordizo
4.5 points—WNM Mary Joy Tan
4 points—WFM Allaney Jia Doroy, WIM Kylen Joy Mordido
3.5 points—WNM Mhage Gerriahlou Sebastian, Jarel Renz Lacambra
2 points—WNM Kaye Lalaine Regidor
WIM Kylen Joy Mordido, Jarel Renz Lacambra, Marielle Agne Juzeia