MANILA--Olongapo suffered a huge setback against Manila in their PCAP All-Filipino Cup clash on Wednesday night for the most unwanted of reasons.
PCAP said on Friday that the Rainbow Team encountered internet difficulties that hampered its bid to stun the Indios Braves.
"The whole Rainbow 7 team was playing in one venue and the internet disruption affected all the players. Attempts to get back into the game were futile when only a handful of players were able to make it back to the online platform," the league said in a statement.
Some Olongapo players still got back into the game, but they only got a win and a draw in their rapid games for 2.5 points.
Manila amassed 18.5 points mainly due to Olongapo's internet problems that clinched the team the series.
Online chess rules state that any internet disconnection could end up in a forfeiture loss if the player or players involved fail to get back to the games before time expires.
The Rainbow Team apparently had its internet connection normalized later in the night in its game against the Quezon City Simba's Pride.
PCAP has yet to confirm the final result of the match, but based on the latest update, Olongapo was ahead, 9-6.
Meanwhile, San Juan remains unbeaten in the season opening tournament after sweeping its Wednesday night assignments.
The Predators survived the Laguna Heroes, 12-9, following huge wins in both the blitz and rapid matches from women's player Women's International Master Jodi Fronda and senior player IM Ricky De Guzman.
San Juan would then overwhelm Cagayan, 17-4, in the nightcap.
Caloocan joined San Juan at the top of the Northern Conference standings after drubbing Rizal, 13.5-7.5, and Laguna, 11-10.
Despite having first overall draft pick Grandmaster Eugene Torre around, the Towers continued to struggle in the tournament after bowing too to the General Trias Spartans, 8.5-12.5, as they slipped to 0-3.
Manila missed out on joining the logjam at the top of the North standings as it lost to Pasig, 11.5-9.5.
Meanwhile, Iloilo, led by number two pick GM Joey Antonio, also jumped to a 3-0 record to lead the way in the Southern Conference after downing Toledo, 16-5, and Cebu City, 19-2.
On the other hand, Camarines went unbeaten against cross-Bicol region rival Iriga in their series, scoring 13 wins and one draw for the 20.5-0.5 count to go up to 3-0 as well.
Negros also moved up to 3-0 in the standings after beating Mindoro 13-8, and Palawan, 14-7.
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