Toledo-Xignex Trojans fall short in quest for history

CEBU, Philippines — The Toledo-Xignex Trojans failed in their bid to make another history after bowing down again to the Manila Load Manna Knights in the Grand Finals of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Season 4 SGM Wesley So Cup on Wednesday night, November 6.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Trojans, who advanced to the national championship for the second consecutive time after grabbing the South Division crown with a perfect 24-0 record.

No other team has achieve such feat since PCAP’s inception four years ago.

As they moved on the doorstep of another milestone, the Trojans, bannered by Grandmasters Aleksey Sorokin and Rogelio Antonio Jr., got a big boost when they trounced the Load Manna Knights in the first game of their two-set title showdown,  14.5-6.5.

But in the second set, the Load Manila Knights led by GM Darwin Laylo and International Masters Yoseph Taher and Chito Garma, bounced back with aplomb to crush the Trojans, 13.5-7.5, and forge a rubber match.

In the Armageddon tiebreaker, the Trojans could not hold their ground and got swept by the Load Manna Knights, 3-0.

It was a second straight heartbreaker for the Trojans, who also lost to the Load Manna Knights in the All-Filipino Conference finals last May. — (FREEMAN)