Rain or Shine seals second seed in Group B

Manila Times - Oct 23, 2026

Rain or Shine stepped on the gas as it rolled past Phoenix, 133-103, to close the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup elimination round with a victory and seal the second seed in Group B on Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. The Elasto Painters ended he elimination round with a 6-4 win-loss mark, setting up an interesting quarterfinal duel against Converge, which finished as the third seed in Group A. On the other hand, the Fuel Masters dropped to a 5-5 record. Their final playoff ranking will be dependent on the outcome of the match between  Barangay Ginebra and Blackwater, which is playing as of posting time. Undersized forward Jhon Clarito registered 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Elasto Painters. Aaron Fuller also had 18, along with eight rebounds Adrian Nocum added 17, while six other Rain or Shine players scored 10 or more points. Marcellus Earlington led Phoenix with 20 points, Gian Mamuyac added 16 points against his former team.

Read full article

More News

Wesley So wins 4th US Chess Championship

Oct 23, 2026

Wesley So wins 4th US Chess Championship

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-American chess Grandmaster Wesley So topped the 2026 United States Chess Championship for the fourth time, beating top American players, including world No. 3 Fabiano Caruana, who ruled the four previous tournaments. In the second game of the two-game rapid playoff that was livestreamed at the Saint Louis Chess Club in Missouri, Caruana made a risky, if not dubious, move by advancing his bishop too early and leaving a central pawn exposed.   So immediately took the free pawn and with it, a lot of territory on the chess board.  So castled his king on the queen-side and advanced his king-side pawns toward Caruana’s castled king.  Caruana attempted to counter-attack on the queen-side, but So continued to push his pawns forward and threatened to expose Caruana’s king.   Caruana resigned after So’s 33rd move.  So and Caruana finished the 11-round tournament tied for first place with 7.0 points apiece.  So’s journey to glory was not without glitches, however, as he unexpectedly lost to tail-ender Sam Sevian in the 11th round.  A draw would have been enough to clinch the championship but the loss enabled Fabiano Caruana, who played well in the second half of the tournament, to catch up with So.  So and Caruana then clashed in a tie-breaker where they played two games with quicker thinking time – forcing more errors and increasing psychological pressure for both players. The first rapid playoff game ended in a draw. In the first two rounds of the tournament, So was on fire as he won against 2018 US champion Sam Shankland and Jeffrey Xiong.  So also beat up-and-coming young grandmasters Andy Woodward and Ray Robson in dramatic come-from-behind victories. So pocketed the $56,000 purse for topping the tournament.  Caruana won the US Chess Championship in 2016, and 2022 to 2025.  So won the US Championship in 2017, 2020, and 2021. The US Chess Championship is considered the “toughest tournament” in the world today, with the strongest players from all over the world gravitating toward the United States. In August, So had also won the prestigious Sinquefield Cup participated by top grandmasters from all over the world.  Then in September, he played in the World Chess Olympiad as part of the United States team.