MANILA, Philippines – Once more a reckoning.
One team stakes its lead in the division while the other hopes to retain its mastery over a foe.
It’s the Pasig King Pirates versus the Caloocan LoadManna Knights in the North and the Iloilo Kisela Knights battling the Negros Kingsmen in the South in Wesley So Cup action Wednesday night.
Pasig is at 21-4 while Caloocan is at 20-5. Even if the King Pirates lose, their 371-.5-344.5 advantage in won-points is sufficient to keep them atop their group. However, that is contingent on Pasig also beating the Laguna Heroes in their first match of the day’s double-header.
Pasig is led by GM Mark Paragua, Singaporean import GM Kevin Goh, IM Cris Ramayrat Jr., IM Sherily Cua and IM Eric Labog Jr., who are among the top performers in this tournament of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines.
Caloocan, on the other hand, is bannered by their top board tandem of IM in Paulo Bersamina and Jem Garcia aling with Arvie Lozano, and IMs Chito Garma and Barlo Nadera.
Over in the south, the Iloilo Kisela Knights, with the league’s best record at 23-2, have oft beaten back spirited attacks by the Negros Kingsmen (18-6). While theoretically, Iloilo could coast all the way to the end of the elimination round, this battle with Negros is one of their remaining challenges to southern domination.
They also have yet to play Surigao, Toledo and Zamboanga — all post-season competitors.
The Kisela Knights feature Armenian GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan, Karl Viktor Ochoa, Cherry Ann Meija, GM Joey Antonio and NM Rolly Parondo Jr.
Iloilo has consistently had the best performers — bar none, we must emphasize — in every tournament since PCAP’s inception in 2021.
If Negros wants to upend Iloilo, they have to be at their very best. Their top board players include David Elorta, Brylle Arellano, Bernadette Galas, Edmundo Gatus and Ellan Asuela.
All four squads battle at 8 p.m.
Other matches to watch out for include Pasig-Laguna, Cavite-Cagayan, Laguna-San Juan in the North; and Zamboanga-Davao and Surigao-Tacloban in the South.
All the matches can be viewed via streaming on the league’s Facebook page as well as the teams’ respective Facebook pages.