CEBU CITY, Philippines — The streaking Toledo-Xignex Trojans will face a tough match on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, in the ongoing 2023 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Wesley So Cup.
The Trojans which is ranked No. 3 in the southern division team standings will face the vaunted and former PCAP champions Iloilo Kisela Knights and the top-ranked Mindoro Tamaraws on Wednesday’s back-to-back matches.
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Toledo-Xignex Trojans beat Davao, Negros Oriental
Last week, the Trojans bagged two straight victories against the Davao Durian Stallions and the Negros Oriental SAGAR Sports to start their campaign unbeaten.
They now have a 2-0 (win-loss) standings with 32.5 points to grab the No. 3 spot in the southern division standings behind Iloilo (3-0) and Mindoro (3-0).
In their match against Davao, they finished with a lopsided 16.5-4.5 total points.
They went on beating Negros Oriental, 16-5, headed by its newest import, Grand Master (GM) Richard Bitoon who is also a Cebuano.
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Toledo-Xignex Trojans players
Besides Bitoon, Toledo is reinforced by two International Masters (IM) in Kim Steven Yap and Rico Mascarinas along with two FIDE Masters (FM) in David Elorta and Cherry Ann Mejia.
Completing the lineup of Toledo-Xignex Trojans is Bonn Rainauld Tibod, Christopher Tubalado, and Allan Pason along with team manager Jeah Gacang.
After their Wednesday clash with Iloilo and Mindoro, Toledo will go up against Camarines Soaring Eagles and Negros Oriental on October 7, 2023.
In their previous season campaign earlier this year, Toledo reached the quarterfinals, but fell short against Camarines.
A total of 18 teams from all around the Philippines are currently competing in the biggest and most comprehensive professional virtual chess tournament in the country sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).
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