Antonio: Send me a ticket, I’ll go

MANILA, Philippines—Grandmaster Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. has expressed dismay over a threat from the National Chess Federation of the Philippines to sack him from the national team unless he plays in the Florencio Campomanes Memorial Cup which starts Saturday.   Antonio, who is in the United States competing in minor tournaments, said the NCFP decision disappoints him, but added he’s willing to come home and compete if the chess body would buy him a plane ticket.   “Physically, I can’t play in the ‘Campo’ Memorial because my plane ticket has been booked until Sept. 9,” Antonio said in a statement e-mailed to sportswriters Friday by US-based scribe Win-chell Campos. “If they would send me a new ticket, I will go home ASAP.”  Antonio, one of the stalwarts expected to bolster the RP campaign in the Asian Games in November, is also preparing for the 39th World Chess Olympiad on Sept. 21 to Oct. 3 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. A recent winner of the second Central California Open, Antonio claimed that his trip to the US was backed by the NCFP and the Philippine Sports Commisison. NCFP president Prospero Pichay and executive director Willy Abalos earlier said that Antonio needs to show up in the tournament to qualify for a spot in the Olympiad squad. “That is the worst thing they can do to a player who has served and represented his country for so many years,” Antonio said, adding Pichay himself had approved his US trip.