Iloilo, San Juan dispute PCAP crown
IT will be Iloilo Kisela Knights versus San Juan Predators for the championship of the 2021 PCAP San Miguel Corporation-Ayala Land chess team championship.
Iloilo brought down upset-conscious Penang Panthers-Malaysia, 9.5-11.5, 14.5-6.5 and 2-1 in Armageddon, while San Juan eliminated Caloocan Load Manna Knights, 14-7, 16.5-4.5, to arrange a titular showdown in the season-ending third confernece.
It will also be a rematch of the PCAP-GM Wesley So Cup championship duel between Iloilo and San Juan, which the Kisela Knights won, 13-8, 11.5-9.5 last August.
NM Fritz Bryan Porras outwitted NM Evan Timoty Capel, while Karl Viktor Ochoa subdued FM Wong Yinn Ling in their playoff matches to clinch the title in the Southern Division for the Leo Sotaridona-managed Kisela Knights.
Poh Yu Tian averted a shutout for the Malaysians when he pulled the rug from under GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr. in the other playoff encounter.
The Malaysians actually drew first blood by edging the Kisela Knights in blitz and rapid in the first of the two title match.
Wong defeated Ochoa, NM Ng Tze Han bested John Michael Silvederio and IM Ooi Zhi Yang downed Porras for the Malaysians’ three victories in rapid.
Antonio humbled Capel and NM Cesar Mariano clobbered Eric Cheah for Iloilo.
Iloilo bounced back strong in the second match with Antonio, Ochoa, Mariano, Porras and WFM Cherry Ann Mejia providing the much-needed victories to set the stage for a playoff encounter.
The San Juan-Caloocan showdown in the Northern Division was different.
Led by GM Oliver Barbosa, WIMN Jan Jodilyn Fronda and IM Ricardo de Guzman, the Predators finished off the Load Manna Knights with back-to-back victories in their two-game playoff.
Barbosa defeated IM Paulo Bersamina in two of their three battles, Fronda got the better of Arvie Lozano and De Guzman put one over IM Domingo Ramos to lead San Juan to victory.
Also stepping up for the Hubert Estrella-mentored Predators are FM Narquingden Reyes, Narciso Gumi and Narquingel Reyes, who also won over Nelson Villanueva, Barlo Nadera and Paul Sanchez, respectively, in the lower boards.
PCAP, the country’s first and only play-for-pay chess league, is headed by Atty. Elauria as President-Commissioner; Michael Angelo Chua as Chairman; and Ariel Potot as Vice Chairman.
The prestigious tournament is sanctioned by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), headed by Chairman Abraham “Baham” Mitra, and supported by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), led by Chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay.
Schedule on Nov. 27:
San Juan vs. Iloilo
