Iloilo Kisela Knights punch grand finals ticket in PCAP Playoffs

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Iloilo Kisela Knights are one series away from clinching their second-straight Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) championship trophy after outlasting the powerhouse Malaysian team Penang, 2-1, in the Southern division finals.

It was one of the toughest tests the Kisela Knights had to pass when Penang broke their playoff winning streak after they drew first blood against Iloilo, 11.5-9.5.

The tightly-contested match opened up with a quick 3.5 deadlock as the first seven playing boards weren’t enough to separate the two best teams in the Southern division.

However, the Malaysian powerhouse started to get some cushion in the Rapid category after finishing strong in the last three playing boards to end with an 8-6 lead.

The Kisela Knights were quick to shift things in the next match as they just overpowered Penang in both the Rapid and Blitz categories, 10-4, 4.5-2.5, respectively.

Karl Viktor Ochoa, WFM Cherry Ann Mejia, NM Cesar Mariano, and NM Fritz Bryan Porras led the Kisela Knights’ attack as they swept both of their games in the two categories.

In the tiebreaking Armageddon category, the Kisela Knights finally pulled away and grabbed a 2-1 overtime win to deliver a second-straight grand finals appearance for Iloilo.

The Kisela Knights will be squaring off against Northern division squad San Juan Predators in the grand finals after they swept Caloocan.