It was a good run until the finals, but Negros Kingsmen failed to use the old for that won the division title as they settled for second place in the just-concluded Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Third Conference.
The Negrenses reached the conference finals after eliminating archival Iloilo Kisela Knights in the Southern Division finals. However, during the clash of the champions, they bowed to the powerhouse Pasig City Pirates.
The Kingsmen drew first blood in the two-leg finale following a close 11-10 win over the Pirates, courtesy of 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.
Bernadette Galas (Board 3), Pimentel and Ellan Asuela (Board 7) and splits from Edmundo Gatus (Board 6) and Montoyo also contributed in the scoring spree.
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, on the other hand, did not let their opponents to maintain its momentum in the second, winning the blitz game behind full point each by Elorta, Galas, Gatus and Asuela before losing in the rapid event with only Turquiza, Pimentel and Asuela getting the full two points.
During the 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. Pasig answered back 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 the quest for first-ever PCAP title, Kingsmen co-team manager Nayk Segismar lauded his wards for showing great effort and determination in the entire 2022 season.IMT
