Toledo-Xignex Trojans team owners and some players pose for a group photo. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Toledo Xignex Trojans meet the Davao Chess Eagles in the semifinals of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All-Filipino Conference on Saturday, May 18.
Contrary to PCAP’s official website’s initial schedule, the Trojans earned a semifinal slot automatically for finishing as the second-best team in the south division.
Ahead of them is the top-ranked Camarines Soaring Eagles which will take on the Surigao Fianchetto Checkmates.
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Davao and Surigao defeated their respective opponents in last Wednesday evening’s quarterfinal round.
Davao eliminated the Tacloban Vikings in their back-to-back matches. They narrowly beat the Vikings in their first match, 11.5-9.5, but dominated the latter in the second, 17-4.
Leading Davao’s win were Sander Aglipay Oberio, Karen Enriquez, Alexander Lupian, Austin Jacob Literatus, and Jonathan Tan who won the blitz and rapid rounds against their assigned opponents to push Davao to a semis encounter with the Toledo Trojans.
Meanwhile, Surigao upset former PCAP champions, the Iloilo Kisela Knights in an armageddon tie-breaker match, 2-1.
The Fianchetto Checkmates lost against the Kisela Knights in the first match, 8-13, but bounced back by winning the second match, 11.5-9.5, forcing the armageddon tie breaker which they won, 2-1.
Horizon Villanueva, Rolly Parondo Jr., and Fritz Bryan Porras led Surigao in beating the favored Iloilo to advance to the semifinals.