By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Finally, the Iloilo Kisela Knights are marching forward to the grand finals stage of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) season II “Wesley So Cup Conference”.
Fresh off their South division finals exit during PCAP’s season I, the Kisela Knights made a promise to the City of Love to bounce back are now just one series win away from claiming the coveted PCAP championship title.
To do that, the Kisela Knights overcame a tough challenge from the Cordova Dutchess Dagami Warriors in their South division finals.
Iloilo came out with momentum and confidence as the Kisela Knights just cruised their way to the first game victory, 13-8.
An early 5-2 lead in the Blitz category was Iloilo’s way of opening the clash led by Karl Viktor Ochoa and GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan who scored early back-to-back wins in the first two boards.
In the Rapid category, Cordova managed to keep it close but eventually fell, 8-6, courtesy of Dennis Bernas and Fritz Bryan Porras’ consecutive wins for Iloilo.
It was then total domination in the second match as Iloilo did not let Cordova have a grip on the match, crushing them 15.5-5.5 and qualify for their first-ever PCAP finals appearance.
The Kisela Knights will face the northern division’s champion, the San Juan Predators who dethroned the first season title-holders Laguna Heroes in the finals.
