By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Iloilo Kisela Knights took care of their last elimination match against the Tacloban Vikings, 13-8, and are headed to the 2022 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) playoffs as the no. 1 seed in the Southern division.
Fresh off a sweeping back-to-back PCAP game day last Saturday, the Kisela Knights continued to roll and extended their winning streak to seven after taking down the Vikings.
Iloilo immediately grabbed the early lead, 5-2, in the first seven playing boards courtesy of huge wins from GM Rogelio Antonio Jr., WFM Cherry Ann Mejia, NM Cesar Mariano, and NM Rolly Parondo Jr.
However, during the rapid category, Tacloban bounced back and finally picked up their momentum when Bryle Arellano and Jimmy Ty Jr. gave them an early 4-0 start.
Iloilo clawed their way back into the lead column and spearheaded a momentum-boosting four-board winning streak led by Horizon Villanueva.
Despite Tacloban’s last board win delivered by Ruel Nuttal, the Kisela Knights’ hot blitz category proved to be the edge that secured their no.1 spot in their division.
The Kisela Knights ended their regular season with 473 points, 30 wins and four losses, ahead of Davao’s 455.5 points in the Southern division.
Pasig is still the no. 1 team of the conference with 518 tallied points while the Kisela Knights placed second overall.
A play-in deathmatch will still be played between Isabela and Cavite, Rizal and Quezon, Camarines and Cebu, and Cagayan De Oro versus Palawan for the last spots in the playoffs.
