CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Toledo City Trojans and the Lapu-Lapu City Naki Warriors are on a collision course as the two Cebu-based pro chess teams face each other in Saturday’s Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Third Conference.
The Trojans and the Naki Warriors’ much-anticipated duel is the second of their two matches scheduled tomorrow.
In the first round, the Trojans will face the Negros Kingsmen, the current No.5 ranked team in the southern division.
Lapu-Lapu City, on the other hand, will battle lower-ranked Palawawn Queen’s Gambit which is currently in the 11th spot in the southern division standings.
The Trojans and the Naki Warriors are currently tied with 9-8 win-loss records and a win against each other will greatly improve their title chances.
Lapu-Lapu City is ranked No.6 while Toledo trails at seventh place. The Naki Warriors has a slight edge in terms of total points accumulated with 187.5 compared to Toledo City’s 178.
Lapu-Lapu City snapped their losing streak last Wednesday by winning all their matches versus the CCE Sunrays and the Surigao Fianchetto Checkmates.
Toledo City meanwhile, is eyeing a comeback after losing their two matches last Wednesday versus the Philippine Paralympic chess team and the Iloilo Kisela Knights.
Lapu-Lapu City will likely field in National Masters Michael Joseph Pagaran, Elwin Retanal, Women’s International Master (WIM) Bernadette Galas, International Arbiter (IA) Lincoln Yap, Ariel Joseph Abellana, Brylle Arellano, and Duane Borgonia.
Toledo City will be manned by IM Rico Mascariñas, Rommel Ganzon, NM Rogelio Enriquez Jr., Richard Natividad, Ronald Ganzon, Bonn Rainauld Tibod, and playing team owner Jeah Jean Gacang. /rcg
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