MANILA – Negros Kingsmen and Iloilo Kisela Knights kicked off the second season of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All-Filipino Conference on Saturday night.
The new-look Kingsmen opened their campaign with a 13.5-7.5 victory over Iriga City Oragons in a game where they battled back from a subpar showing in the blitz by totally dominating their opposition in rapid game.
The Negrenses struggled in the blitz event against the Oragons, 1.5-5.5, with only Natori Biazza Diaz scoring a victory in the third board, while Rolzon Roullo settled for a draw in the fifth board.
The Kingsmen, however, bounced back in the rapid game, 12-2, with victories by Alvin Alcala (Board 1), Randy Segarra (Board 2), Adrian Pacis (Board 4), Edsel Montoya (Board 6), and Ted Ian Montoyo (Board 7) and draws by Diaz and Roullo.
According to Kingsmen team manager Nayk Segismar, the squad managed to open the season on a winning note despite missing some key players due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
“The team was quite short-handed against Iriga because of some unforeseen circumstances,” Segismar said. “But the coaches are happy that we still managed to take the win against a formidable opponent.”
“The team struggled heavily in the blitz game as we were badly beaten but we managed to shook off our rust as we dominated the opposition in the rapid,” he added. “This is a lesson learn for us. We will try to have a better Blitz score in the next rounds.”
Just like the Kingsmen, the Iloilo Kisela Knights also had a resounding start in the season-opening conference with an 11.5-7.5 domination of the Palawan Queen’s Gambit.
The Leo Sotaridona-owned team, which was the reigning Wesley So Cup champion, relied on their homegrown players, veteran Joey Antonio and newly-acquired Rolly Parondo and Horizon Villanueva to clinch the win.
The Kingsmen returned to action on January 26 with a pair of matches against Davao and Camarines, while the Kisela Knights also has a double-header schedule versus Iriga and Davao./PN
