Quezon City Simba's Tribe and Dasma Cavite Spartans defeated respective foes on Saturday, May 11, and will advance in the Northern Division quarterfinals of the 2024 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) online chess tournament held at the Chess.com platform.
The Simba's Tribe survived a tough challenge from Isabela Knights of Alexander, 11-10, while the Cavite Spartans defeated Cagayan Kings, 15-6 on Saturday.
"We were pushed to the limit by Isabela, but the good thing is our players stepped up in the rapid play," said playing coach Michaela Concio, former top player of University of Santo Tomas during her college days.
Quezon City yielded to Isabela in the blitz event, 2-5, but came back strong with a 9-5 triumph in rapid play.
"It was a tough win for us," added Simba's Tribe playing team owner Danilo Ponay.
This is the first time that Quezon City made it past the elimination round in the All-Filipino Conference.
Freddie Talaboc, National Master Raymond Salcedo, Michella Concio, Eduardo Tunguia and Joseph Navarro played vital roles for Simba's Tribes in the rapid event.
Talaboc defeated Fide Master Noel dela Cruz on board 1, Salcedo subdued National Master Marc Christian Nazario on board 2, Concio drew with Melizah Ruth Carreon on board 3, Tunguia upset National Master Gerardo Cabellon on board 4 and Navarro crushed Lordwin Espiritu on board 6.
Ricky Echala and Alvin Aguinaldo carried the fight for the Knights of Alexander after beating Francis Talaboc and Paulo Cristobal, on boards 5 and 7 respectively.
The Dasma Cavite Spartans, on the other hand, outplayed the Cagayan Kings in the blitz, 6-1, and rapid, 9-5 to claim a 15-6 victory.
The Spartans once again relied on the heroics of Kevin Arquero on board 1), Grandmaster Joey Antonio on board 2, Fide Master Carlos Edgardo Garma on board 4, Alfredo Rapanot on board 5, Alexis Emil Maribao on board 6 and Renie Malupa on board 7 to beat the Cagayan Kings in the blitz event.
Woman International Master Marie Antoinette San Diego, Garma, Renie Malupa and Maribao prevailed in rapid play while Antonio contributed a draw.
"Cagayan is a strong team. We were just lucky for beating them tonight. It was indeed a tough match," said Dasma Cavite coach Benjie Bercadez.
Quezon City (9-16) will face Manila (21-4) in the two-leg Northern Division quarterfinal round slated on Wednesday, May 15.
Dasma Cavite (20-5) will play Cagayan (14-11) in the knockout stage.
San Juan (22-3) and defending champion Pasig City (21-4) are waiting in the Northern Division semifinal round after a 1-2 finish in the elimination round.
In the Southern Division, Surigao (13-12) will face Iloilo (12-13) while Davao (17-8) will take on Tacloban (9-16) in the quarterfinals while Camarines (20-5) and Toledo (17-8) advanced outright in the semifinal round after 1-2 finish.