MANILA – Iloilo Kisela Knights and Negros Kingsmen added depth to their roster during the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) virtual draft on Saturday evening.
The Kisela Knights, that had one championship, one runner up and one third place finish in the first season, nabbed two homegrown players in Rolly Parondo and Horizon Villanueva.
Parondo is a native of Oton, Iloilo and currently works as a chess coach in Thailand. He had his taste of PCAP action in the first season when he played for guest team Bangkok in the third conference.
Villanueva, for his part, is a native of Zarraga, Iloilo, a former Palarong Pambansa gold medal winner, and also a veteran of local chess tournaments in the Iloilo area.
Kisela Knights head coach Hyubs Canto said the pickup of Parondo and Villanueva is a huge boost to the squad as they really aimed for the Ilonggo chess players in the draft.
“Actually, we got what the team wanted in Rolly and Horizon,” Canto said. “With the addition of these two homegrown players, feel namin na mas lumakas kami and ready na kami for another title run in the second season.”
The Kingsmen, for its part, also strengthened its lineup after falling short in all three conferences last year with four additional players, including Negrenses Ted Ian Montoyo and Adelaide Joie Lim.
Aside from Montoyo and Lim, the Negrenses also tabbed FIDE Master Adrian Pacis as their senior player and Alvin Alcara as one of their homegrown players from Negros Oriental.
“The team is optimistic that our four new players will have a great impact in our squad next season,” said Kisela Knights team manager Junaico Segismar. “We fell short in our previous season, so we will really bounce back this time.”
The second season of the PCAP will open with an All-Filipino conference on Jan. 22, according to tournament commissioner and president Atty. Paul Elauria./PN
