MANILA – Iloilo Kisela Knights and Negros Kingsmen are set to dispute for the right to represent the Southern Division in the finals of the 2022 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Wesley So Cup on Wednesday.
The Kisela Knights made its way to the Southern Division finals following a two-leg Southern Division semifinals victory over Toledo Trojan on Saturday — 12.5-8.5 in first leg (4.5-2.5 in blitz, 8-6 in rapid) and 11.5-9.5 in the second leg (3.5-3.5 in blitz, 8-6 in rapid).
The Kisela Knights made its presence felt in the first leg blitz, 4.5-2.5, behind full points by Hovhannes Gabuzyan (Board 1), Cherry Ann Mejia (Board 3), Rogelio Antonio Jr. (Board 4) and Rolly Parondo Jr. (Board 7) and split by Fritz Bryan Porras (Board 5).
The Ilonggos also eked out a close 8-6 win over Toledo in the first leg rapid event with Gabuzyan, Mejia, Antonio and John Michael Silvederio (Board 6) notching two points apiece.
In the second leg of the Southern Division semis, Iloilo were forced to a 3.5-3.5 draw by Toledo in blitz but the former bounced back with an 8-6 rapid event win behind two points from Gabuzyan, Mejia, Antonio and Parondo.
“We are happy to be back in the Southern Division finals but we are very wary of Negros,” said Kisela Knights mentor Hyubs Canto. “They have improved a lot since our last meeting so we have to be prepared for them.”
The Kingsmen, on the other hand, was forced to two Armageddon victories in their two-leg Southern Division semifinals encounter against a tough Davao team to reach the next round.
After being forced to a 10.5-10.5 draw in the first leg, the Kingsmen banked on the heroics of David Elorta (Board 1) and Vietnamese reinforcement Tran Tuan Minh (Board 2) to pull off a 2-1 Armageddon victory.
The Negrenses faced the same fate in the second leg with the blitz and rapid ending up at 10.5-10.5 but Elorta (Board 2) and Tran (Board 3) rose to the occasion anew for a 2-1 escape.
“This is the first time for us to reach this far but we are aiming for much higher,” said Kingsmen co-team manager Nayk Segismar. “Iloilo always presents a huge challenge for us so we will review our mistakes from our two previous encounters.”/PN
