Win or go home time in Wesley So Cup

MANILA, Philippines – After a little over two grueling months of elimination round chess among 24 teams and a play-in to give some life to the bottom seeds a lifeline, the Wesley So Cup of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines has arrived.

Now, it is win or go home time Wednesday. One loss, and that win-loss slate one worked so hard to achieve during the elimination round is history and tomorrow will be the third conference where the grind starts again.

In the Northern Division, top-ranked San Juan stakes their 31-3 record against 10-24 Cavite that booted out Cagayan that had the twice-to-beat advantage in the play-in. 

Second seed Manila (30-4) battles Isabela while Laguna (26-8) takes on unpredictable Pasig (20-14). Caloocan faces (26-8) faces off with Antipolo (25-9). 

Over at the Southern Division, surprise top seed Cordova (28-6) takes on Mindoro (9-25), which earned a slot via the backdoor play-in when they shocked Lapu Lapu. 

Camarines (28-6) meets up with Surigao (10-24) as Iloilo (27-7) matches wits with Toledo (17-17). And lastly, Negros (23-11) battles Zamboanga (21-13).

San Juan bettered their 30-4 record from the All-Filipino Cup where they finished fourth. The 31-3 slate in a league best in the two conferences played thus far in PCAP.

On the other hand, Cordova, which piped Camarines for the top seed by a mere 1.5 points, owns the single biggest turnaround in PCAP history by bettering their 12-22 All-Filipino Cup record — plus 16 wins. 

The semifinals will be held on June 24, the division finals on July 28, and the Wesley So Cup Finals on July 31.