“We’re happy that we have reached this part and we are also glad that we are able to get the interest of the chess playing community in the Philippines,” PCAP Commissioner Paul Elauria told an online press conference on Monday.
The PCAP is the country’s first professional chess leaguewhich opened with the All-Filipino Cup last January 12.
After 34 elimination games, Laguna posted a 30-4 won-lost record to top the Northern Division heading into the playoffs.
Also advancing from the north were Aby San Juan, Caloocan, Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Pasig, and Antipolo. In the south,
Iloilo also went 30-4 in the south, towing Camarines, Negros, Zambianga, Toledo, Lapu-Lapu, Mindoro and Cordova to the quarterfinals.
The two divisions will have their own semifinals and finals, with the group top-notchers fighting it out for the national championship.