Two Western Visayas teams punched their tickets to the semifinals of the 2022 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Wesley So Cup after eliminating their respective opponents in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, July 27.
As the reigning Wesley So Cup champion, Iloilo Kisela Knights had a hard time sealing the victory after Tacloban forced an Armageddon.
But during the decider, Iloilo pulled off a 3-0 win courtesy of import Hovhannes Gabuzyan, Rogelio Antonio Jr. and Karl Victor Ochoa.
Iloilo took the first of the two-set quarterfinals, 20-1, courtesy of blitz and rapid game wins by Gabuzyan (Board 1), Ochoa (Board 2), Fiona Guirhem (Board 3), Antonio (Board 4), Rolly Parondo Jr. (Board 5), Fritz Porras (Board 6), and Cesar Mariano (Board 7).
Tacloban, with a good lineup bounced back in the second set and upset the Ilonggos following a 13.5-7.5 escape. The win was powered by their massive 11-3 rapid game stunner against the Kisela Knights to force the Armageddon.
Meanwhile, Negros Kingsmen secured another semis spot following a two-set quarterfinals victory against Camarines-Iriga—17-4 in the first set (6-1 in blitz and 11-3 in rapid) and 15.5-5.5 in second leg (3.5-3.5 in blitz and 12-2 in rapid).
David Elorta (Board 1), Tran Tuan Minh (Board 2), Bernadette Galas (Board 3), Edmundo Gatus (Board 4), Ellan Asuela (Board 5) and Joel Pimentel (Board 6) played a vital role in Negros’ lopsided first set triumph over Camarines-Iriga.
In the second set, the Kingsmen came up short in blitz but managed to get back in shape and won the rapid, thanks to two-pointers of Elorta, Tran, Galas, Gatus, Pimentel and Asuela to move on to the next round.
The Kisela Knights will be challenged by no. 4 Toledo Trojans in two-leg Southern Division semifinals, while the Kingsmen will tangle with no.3 Davao in the division Final Four on Saturday, July 30.IMT Sports
