THE ATENEO Men’s and Women’s Chess teams competed in the fourteenth and final round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Chess tournament on Sunday, April 8 at the Quadricentennial Pavilion in the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
The Blue and Lady Eagles faced off against the University of the Philippines (UP) and Adamson University (AdU) respectively. The Blue Eagles ended the season with a score of 7.5. while the Lady Eagles brought their score to 5.5. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, both squads finished the season in eight place.
Lady Eagles
The Lady Eagles won against AdU at a 2.5-1.5 score to bag their only win of the season. Ana De Duque got the ball rolling as she bested AdU’s Bea Betco on board one. On board two, Aryanne De Ocampo took on Lindsay Novabos. De Ocampo defeated her opponent bringing the Lady Eagles to a 2-0 lead.
Ateneo Captain Jasmine Principe took on Crissa Cañada on board three. Unfortunately for Principe, she was taken down by Cañada as AdU cut the Blue and White lead to 1.
With hopes to secure Ateneo the victory, Jill Feliciano went toe-to-toe with Abigail Tamundong. Feliciano and Tamundong ended their match in a draw, ending the team-tei with a 2.5-1.5 score. Before the day ended, Feliciano was also awarded the bronze medal on board six with a win-loss-draw record of 1-7-1. Feliciano fell just short of the silver, admitting that a victory in her final match would have awarded her a higher rank.
“Happy pa rin [kami] kahit last place kasi finally, after two seasons, we won a match point. Next season will be different. With our new recruits, the Women’s team will be stronger and we’ll have a better chance,” said Principe.
Blue Eagles
In the Men’s Division, the Blue Eagles were defeated by the Fighting Maroons with a score of 0.5-3.5 to end the season.
On board one, Blue Eagle Lance Ting was defeated by Jefferson Saltorio as UP took a 0-1 lead. Boards two and three featured Blue Eagles’ Keefe Tan and Gavin Ong as they faced UP’s Mac Labasano and Justin Corpin respectively. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, Tan and Ong fell to their opponents as to bring UP’s lead up to 3.
Refusing to go down without a fight, Ateneo’s top scorer Renzo Marquez took on Shaun Gan. The bout ended in a draw as Marquez scored Ateneo’s only points of the day. Marquez was also awarded the gold medal on board five with an impressive win-loss-draw record of 4-1-1.
“I guess what’s ironic is that the year I actually end up winning is the year I realized that it wasn’t the medals or trophies, but the people that were the most important thing,” Marquez admitted. “I owe everything to my coaches, my teammates, and all the players that have all become my friends over the years. Among all the games, the awards, the hardships, it’s the people that I’m really going to miss the most as I graduate and say goodbye to my chess career.”
