MANILA – Negros Island Region (NIR) Kingsmen turned back Iloilo Kisela Knights in lopsided fashion, 15-6, in the 2023 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All-Filipino Conference on Saturday night.
The Kingsmen barely escaped in the blitz event, 4-3, with David Elorta (Board 1), Bernadette Galas (Board 3) and Rogelio Antonio Jr. (Board 4) getting the full one point, while Joel Pimentel (Board 5) and Jerich Cajeras (Board 6) settled for split.
The Negrenses showed their dominance in the rapid event with Elorta, Edsel Montoya (Board 2), Galas, Pimentel and Ellan Asuela (Board 7) delivering the full two points and Antonio finishing with one point.
“Facing the Iloilo Kisela Knights was always a challenge for us. It is fortunate that we got the better of them this time,” said Kingsmen team manager Nayk Segismar. “This is a morale boosting for us heading into our future games.”
The Kingsmen completed a sweep of their Saturday night matches as they later defeated Zamboanga Sultans, 17-4, to stay ahead in the Southern Division standings with 5-0 record.
The Kingsmen dominated the Sultans in the blitz game, 6-1, with Elorta, Pimentel (Board 2), Galas, Antonio, Ted Ian Montoyo (Board 5) and Xavier John Verdun (Board 7) finishing full point each.
The Negrenses also showed the way in the rapid game, 11-3, via two-pointers each from Pimentel, Galas, Antonio, Montoyo and Verdun, while Elorta was held to a split by his opponent.
The Kisela Knights, on the other hand, had a forgetful evening as they also dropped their second game last Saturday against Toledo-Xigmex Trojans, 14-7, to slump to 3-2 in the standings.
The Ilonggos were still hanging around after the blitz game, which they dropped 3-4, but they were dominated by the Trojans in the rapid game, 10-4, for a rare two-game losing skid.
“The players were still adjusting with our revamped and all-Ilonggo lineup,” said Kisela Knights head coach Hubert Canto. “We will definitely learn from our mistakes in this twin defeats.”/PN
