Competition in both divisions is expected to be close with NCR leg winners Rey Jomar Magallanes and Loren Brigham Laceste heading the elite field in the national championship which offers P20,000 to the junior champion and P10,000 to the winner in the kiddies division. The second and third placers in both categories will also receive cash prizes plus medals.
Wesley So, the 10-year-old wizard who won the kiddies crown last year, and two other players gained wild card berths in the national finals when the top three finishers of the Southern Luzon leg waived their slots due to conflict of schedule with the UAAP tournament. They are Mark Yabut, Vic Neil Villanueva and Ramon Manon-og.
So and Reb Michael Adonis of Davao del Norte, who wound up fourth and fifth, respectively in Lucena, thus took the two berths for Southern Luzon in the finals, along with Jan Mar Hondonero, fifth placer in the Mindanao elims, who replaced second placer and UAAP player Jayson Salubre in the Mindanao roster.
The 18-year-old Magallanes, a freshman at the University of the East, scored 6.5 points then nipped Ivan Gil Biag and Melvin Palomata in the tiebreak to rule the juniors division of the final leg of the five-stage qualifiers recently.
Biag, playing out of Philippine Christian University (PCU)-Cavite, and Palomata, a San Sebastian College (SSC) bet, also advanced to the grand finals along with fourth placer Ellan Asuela, a finalist last year who came all the way from Bacolod to vie for one of the coveted berths.
Laceste, meanwhile, dominated the kiddies side of the event sponsored by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation as the 11-year-old bet from La Union swept the seven-round Swiss system tournament.
to tow three others in the grand finals, including SSC’s Revin Vasallo, Eugene Samonte of Tenement Elem. School and Jan Jodilyn Fronda of PCU-Manila. They will be joined in the three-day event, an 11-round Swiss system tournament, by the top finishers in the Visayas, Mindanao and those from the Northern and Southern Luzon qualifiers in a gathering of the best talents in the 20-years-old and below, and the 14-years-old and below divisions.
They include Jose Roble of Univ. of San Jose-Recoletos, Bryan Jose of Pilgrim Christian College, Kim Steven Yap, another USJ-R bet, and Julius Albina of UP-Cebu (Visayas-juniors); Jose Bryan Vaño of Univ. of Cebu, Randolph Dalauta of Cagayan de Oro, Michael Joseph Pagaran of Bohol, and Joel Pimentel, Jr. of Bacolod (Visayas-kiddies); Lyndon Sombilon, Brene Parreño and John Ritter Belocura, all of Davao (Mindanao-juniors); Rodel Alsado and Jay Bulicatin, both of Panabo City, and brothers Jerwell and Jester Andoy of Davao City (Mindanao-kiddies);
Haripas Pascua of Pangasinan and Amram Rivas of Manila (Southern Luzon-kiddies); Froilan Bolico of Pasig and Michael Adarlo of Manila (Northern Luzon-juniors); Marco Polo Rosete of Isabela and Bernard Nillo of Baguio City (Northern Luzon-kiddies).