MANILA – Iloilo Kisela Knights placed runner up in the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Tag Team Tuesday. It bowed to Pasig City King Pirates in the finals on Tuesday night.
Rogelio Antonio Jr. and Karl Victor Ochoa of Southern Division champions Kisela Knights tried to keep in step with King Pirates’ Eric Labog Jr. and Kevin Arquero but fell short to settle for the bridesmaid finish.
Also part of the Kisela Knights roster for the Tuesday-only PCAP side event that started in September were Fritz Bryan Porras and John Michael Silvederio, with Hubert Canto and Gil Libutaque serving as their coaches.
For the second place finish, the Kisela Knights took home a cash prize of P15,000 along with certificate, while the King Pirates bagged the first place cash of P25,000 and certificate.
Prior to the finale, the Kisela Knights defeated Cebu City Machers, Surigao Fianchetto Checkmates, Toledo City Trojans, Camarines Soaring Eagle and Lapu-Lapu City Naki Warriors in the round-robin to emerge as Southern Division’s top team.
Team PXWorks-San Juan, meanwhile, clinched the second runner-up finish in the competition after prevailing over the Cebu City Machers in the battle-for-third place match.
PXWorks San Juan captured a P10,000 cash prize along with a certificate, while Machers ended up with P5,000 cash and a certificate for the third and fourth place finish, respectively.
Despite falling short in the finale of the competition, Canto said it was still a good showing for Antonio, Ochoa, Porras and Silvederio heading into the PCAP San Miguel Corporation-Ayala Land Cup playoffs.
“I just want to congratulate the team for our runner-up finish. Magandang practice itong PCAP Tag Team in preparation sa totoong laban since approaching na din ‘yung quarterfinals,” Canto said.
The Kisela Knights are currently tied with the Paralympics team in first place in the Southern Division standings of the PCAP season-ending conference with still four games in their schedule./PN
