CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Davao Chess Eagles and the Pasig City King Pirates forged a championship match Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Season 3 Third Conference after trouncing their respective foes in last Wednesday evening’s division finals.
The Chess Eagles which debuted in Season 2 of PCAP staged a huge upset in the southern division finals after beating top-seed, Negros Island Region Kingsmen in a thrilling, two-set showdown.
Also, the Pasig City King Pirates upsets the heavily-favored former PCAP champions, the Laguna Heroes in a thrilling Armageddon tie-breaker match.
The championship match is slated on Saturday, April 29, along with the battle for third featuring Laguna and Negros Island Region.
Davao Chess Eagles, King Pirates win
The Chess Eagles, which was the No.2 seed in the southern division, defeated the Zamboanga Sultans to advance in the semifinals where they faced the Camarines Iriga Soaring Eagles.
Meanwhile, the King Pirates defeated San Juan Predators in the semifinals, and edged the Cavite Spartans in the quarterfinals in the northern division.
Saturday’s championship match will likely field in National Master (NM) Oberio Aglipay, NM Dale Bernardo, Women’s NM Jean Karen Enriquez, NM Alexander Lupian, International Master Oliver Dimakiling, FIDE Master (FM) Austin Literatus, and Jonathan Tan for Davao.
Meanwhile, Laguna will likely have Grand Master (GM) Mark Paragua, IM Idelfonso Datu, Arena Grand Master (AGM) Rowelyn Joy Acedo, IM Cris Ramayrat Jr., IM Eric Labog Jr., Kevin Arquero, and FM Nelson Mariano III.
On the other hand, Cebu’s top bet, the Toledo-Xignex Trojans were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs against Camarines Iriga.
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