Laguna vs San Juan, Iloilo vs Lapu-Lapu slated in PCAP Wednesday

MANILA, Philippines – The Laguna Heroes and the Lapu-Lapu Naki Warriors will have a chance to knock down a peg the current leaders of the Northern and Southern Divisions of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines third conference, the PCAP-San Miguel Corporation-Ayala Land Premier Cup, when they battle the San Juan Predators and Iloilo Kisela Knights, respectively, on Wednesday.

The Laguna Heroes are right behind the 7-0 Predators with a 6-1 slate. Lapu-Lapu is at 5-2 and two places behind Iloilo’s 6-0 slate.

The Heroes and Predators have developed a healthy rivalry in the previous two conferences of the PCAP. Laguna knocked out San Juan in the semifinals of the All-Filipino Cup. The Predators returned the favor in the Wesley So Cup where they blanked the latter in all their matches.

Iloilo has blanked Lapu-Lapu in all their meetings in the previous two conferences. With a much-improved squad, this battle against the Wesley So Cup champions, who are led by GM Joey Antonio, will be a stern test of wills, determination and the opportunity to see how far they have come.

All matches are crucial because only the top eight squads after a single round robin play advance to the second round where the guest foreign and local squads await.

Other key matches include Caloocan going up against Pasig, Negros taking on skidding Camarines, and Surigao locking horns with Toledo.

The matches can be viewed on the PCAP Facebook page as well as the respective teams’ Facebook pages.