Rio, Talisic rule Cebu leg of Philippine Scrabble Caravan

These are the winning word wizards of the Philippine Scrabble Caravan-Cebu Leg during the awarding ceremony on Sunday evening. | Contributed Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Odette Carmina Rio and Lord Garnett Talisic emerged as the champions in the Philippine Scrabble Caravan Cebu Leg over the weekend at the Arts and Sciences Hall of the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu campus.

Rio ruled the open category, while Talisic topped the youth category in the tournament which featured some of the region’s best word wizards.

Rio finished the tournament with 13 wins and 1,111 spread points to clinch the title of the tournament organized by the Unified Scrabble Association of the Philippines Inc. (USAPI) in collaboration with the Cebu Scrabble Association.

Jowar Ayuno and Abdul Suma tied with 11 wins, but eventually ranked as second and third places, respectively according to their spread points. Ayuno had 463 spread points, while Suma had 369 spread points.

Lear Jet Dela Cruz grabbed the fourth spot with 10 wins in hand and 499 spread points, while Renante Dela Cerna who also had 10 wins settled for fifth place from his 417 spread points. 

Meanwhile, Talisic finished his campaign with 9.5 points and gathered 716 spread points to rule the youth division, while Leo Paolo Ballaso had nine wins and 456 spread points to claim the second place honors. 

Rounding off the top three in the youth division was King Jos Rydan Relatorres with eight wins and 867 spread points. Christian Alipar (8 wins, 692 spread points) and Kristin Avril Siangko (8 wins, 474 spread points) placed fourth and fifth places, respectively. 

Rio and Talisic will likely represent the  the Philippines in the WESPA World Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States this year. This as the tournament served as a qualifying event for the world championships. They will join fellow word wizards who topped the Luzon and Mindanao legs for Team Philippines. 

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