CEBU CITY — Manila Southwoods remains the team to beat but will have to take on a host of challengers led by Cebu Country Club and Eastridge in the 74th Philippine Airlines Men's Interclub golf team championships that kick off Wednesday.

Southwoods is gunning for its sixth crown in the last seven years but has its eyes on darkhorse Eastridge Golf Club.

"Pretty strong team," Southwoods non-playing captain Thirdy Escano said.

"I don't know how the young boys will do pag pukpukan na but on paper, it's another team to contend with, which is good. It should make the competition more interesting."

The Carmona-based squad routed Del Monte by 22 points in 2020 before the Interclub was shelved for two successive years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Four members of the national team — Kristoffer Arevalo, Gabriel Manotoc, Shinichi Suzuki and Coby Rolida — will lead the talent-laden Southwoods squad.

Junjun Plana, a fixture in the Interclub since the eighties, will provide leadership and experience. The other members are Lanz Uy, Ryan Monsalve, Josh Jorge, Santino Laurel and Masaichi Otake.

CCC, the 2019 champion, is expected to perform well at home.

The squad is made up of three holdovers of its champion team and four players who took part last week in the senior event.

The holdovers from its champion squad are Eric Deen, JJ Alvarez, and playing captain Bayani Garcia.

Deen is one of four senior players in the squad. The others are Carl Almario, Jufil Sato, and On Kyu Ok. Completing the team are Mark Dy, Inting Osmeña, Jacob Cajita and Tyler Po.

Almario said the home team has the edge because it is used to the kind of grass in the course.

However, that advantage will be minimized if players are allowed to lift, clean, and replace the ball due to the soft condition of the fairways at CCC.

"Still, we believe that the battle will be won at Club Filipino de Cebu," Almario said.

For the first time in recent memory, eight teams will slug it out in the championship division.

Aside from Southwoods, CCC, and Eastridge, the other teams are Del Monte Golf Club, Pueblo de Oro, Sta. Elena, Tagaytay Highlands, and Valley Golf and Country Club.

Eastridge has fielded a team led by former professional Tonton Asistio reinforced by players from Davao and a sprinkle of top junior golfers.

Edison Tabalin, Alexander Bisera, Ronel Tagaan and Jhondie Quibol come from Davao. The other members are Loyd Labrador, Chris John Remata, Zachary Villaroman and Timothy Clark Co.

Play in the championship round begins at CCC before the teams proceed to Club Filipino de Cebu for the next two rounds. The final round will be held at CCC on Saturday.

The annual event, held with the theme "Back to Ignite," is supported by platinum sponsors ABS-CBN Global, Asian Journal, Airbus, and NUSTAR Resort and Casino.

Gold sponsors include Radio Mindanao Network, Mastercard, "Memories FM 89.9 Cebu," University of Mindanao Broadcasting Network, PLDT/Smart and Konsulta MD.

Joining the event as silver sponsors are Philippine National Bank, Biocostech and VISA.

Minor sponsors are Bollore Logistics, Manila Standard, Tanduay Brands International, and Asia Brewery while donors are the Department of Tourism, Ogawa, Newport World Resorts, Rolls Royce and Boeing.