MAILA – Negros Kingsmen failed to sustain its strong start to bow to the Pasig City Pirates in the finals of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Third Conference on Saturday night.
The Kingsmen actually drew first blood in the two-leg finale following a close 11-10 win over the Pirates, a slim 3-4 defeat in the blitz event and a close 8-6 victory over rapid game.
The Negrenses gained full points each from David Elorta (Board 1) and Joel Pimentel (Board 5) and half points from Mari Joseph Turquiza (Board 2) and Ted Ian Montoyo (Board 6) in the blitz event.
The Kingsmen gained the separation from the Pirates in the rapid game with Bernadette Galas (Board 3), Pimentel and Ellan Asuela (Board 7) and splits from Edmundo Gatus (Board 6) and Montoyo.
The Pirates, however, bounced back in the second leg of the finale at 11-10 after surrendering the blitz event, 4-3, before surging to an 8-6 victory in the rapid game to force an Armageddon.
The Negrenses drew first blood in the second leg by winning the blitz game behind full point each by Elorta, Galas, Gatus and Asuela before faltering in the rapid event with only Turquiza, Pimentel and Asuela getting the full two points.
In the tiebreaking Armageddon round, the Kingsmen fell short against the Pirates with only Pimentel winning over their three opponents as he defeated Eric Labog Jr. in the first board.
The Negrenses, however, failed to capitalize in the other boards as Elorta bowed to Oliver Barbosa of the Pirates, while Asuela fell short to Grand Master Mark Paragua of Pasig City.
Despite falling short in capturing their first-ever PCAP title, Kingsmen co-team manager Nayk Segismar lauded his wards for showing great effort and determination in the entire 2022 season.
“We might have fell short but this is a huge achievement for the team. This is the first time we reached this far. We will drew strength from this to have a better showing next season,” Segismar said./PN
