From left to right; Toledo-Xignex Trojans’ Atty Jeah Gacang (Co-owner), IM Rico Mascariñas (Senior board), NM Elwin Retanal (homegrown), Christopher Tubalado (homegrown), John Lenneb Signe (Co-owner), and Bonn Rainauld Tibod (Team Captain – player). | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Toledo-Xignex Trojans will have its mettle tested anew as they face two formidable foes in the ongoing Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Season 3 3rd Conference on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
The Trojans caught the attention of the national chess scene after clinching the No. 1 spot of the southern division standings last week following huge victories.
This time, the Trojans which is ranked No. 2, will face the top team in the southern division, the Negros Kingsmen, and the No. 8 team, the Zamboanga Sultans in their set of matches Wednesday evening.
It’s best remembered that last Saturday, the Trojans stunned the heavily favored Iloilo Kisela Knights and the Davao Chess Eagles to remain unbeaten after five games with 80 points. The Kingsmen also had a 5-0 (win-loss) record for 84 points.
Camarines-Iriga Soaring Eagles is at the No. 3 spot with the same 5-0 record but with only 68.5 points. Iloilo (3-2) and Davao (2-3) are at the fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Trojans, who completed a huge overhaul of its roster for this season of the PCAP, will likely field in International Master (IM) Kim Steven Yap, IM Rico Mascarinas, WIM Beverly Mendoza, National Master (NM) Elwin Retanal, Richard Natividad and team captain Bonn Rainauld Tibod for tomorrow’s showdown between Negros and Zamboanga.
The Trojans also have the backing of reliable woodpushers Christopher Tubalado, Rommel Ganzon, Ronald Ganzon, and Allan Pason.
For his part, the Trojans’ team co-owner, John Signe told CDN Digital in an earlier interview that they are not just focusing on winning the PCAP championships as they also want to establish a local program that reaches the community.
“Aside from winning the championship, our goal is to introduce chess and God’s love to kids. We want to reach out to schools, baranggays, towns, cities and provinces in Cebu and create chess clubs. We’d take pride in raising future generation chess masters,” said Signe, who owns a digital solutions company which is named after the team.
/bmjo
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