Toledo’s Trojans dominate Iloilo, march into PCAP southern finals

Toledo Xignex Trojans logo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Toledo Xignex Trojans delivered a dominant performance to oust the Iloilo Kisela Knights in the Southern Division semifinals of the 2024 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All-Filipino Conference on Wednesday, May 6.

Toledo swept both sets of their semifinal matchup, winning 13-8 and 16-5, to book a finals showdown against the Bacolod Blitzers, who also advanced after edging the Camarines Soaring Eagles in a tight semifinal held the same day.

Notably, Toledo was the only team among all semifinalists from both the Northern and Southern Divisions to secure a clean two-set victory, while the rest of the matchups were decided via Armageddon tiebreakers.

READ: Toledo Xignex Trojans all geared up for PCAP playoffs

Leading the charge was International Master (IM) Joel Banawa, who delivered a flawless performance on Board 1—defeating Erol Parondo in the blitz round and following it up with a win over John Michael Silverio in the rapid round.

Toledo took the blitz round in the first set by a narrow 4-3 margin, then pulled away in the rapid round with a 9-5 score to clinch the opener.

IM Joel Pimentel also made a strong impact on Board 7, sweeping his match against Mark Jossel Mariano in both the blitz and rapid rounds.

In the second set, the Trojans nearly completed a blitz sweep with a 6-1 score. Victories by Banawa, Pimentel, and FIDE Master (FM) Carlos Edgardo Garma over Horizon Villanueva, Mark Jossel Mariano, and Cesar Mariano, respectively, paved the way.

Toledo sealed their spot in the Southern Division finals with a 10-4 win in the rapid round of the second set.

Meanwhile, Bacolod had to claw its way into the finals through a 3-0 Armageddon tiebreaker after splitting sets with Camarines—taking the first set, 11-10, and settling for a 10.5-all draw in the second.

Over in the Northern Division, the Pasig City King Pirates ousted the defending Wesley So Cup champions Manila Load Manna Knights in another Armageddon finish, 3-0. Pasig took the first set, 13.5-7.5, but dropped the second, 10-11.

Pasig now advances to face the San Juan Predators in the Northern Division finals. San Juan also prevailed via Armageddon, 2-1, after taking the first set, 15-6, and losing the second narrowly, 10-11.

Both the Northern and Southern Division finals are scheduled for Saturday, May 10. /clorenciana