THE ATENEO Blue Eagles capped off their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Men’s Chess campaign with a 2-2 draw against the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors. The match signified the fourteenth and final matchday of the tournament, which was held on Sunday, October 27 at the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila City.

Ateneo concluded the tournament at eighth place, situating themselves at the bottom of the ladder behind opponents UE with a one-point differential. They ended the season with a 2-4-8 record and a total of 21.5 points.

A familiar strategy was implemented by Head Coach Jan Emmanuel Garcia, placing Vince Edralin and Hans Reyes to man boards one and two. Top performer Tristan Jared Cervero and Team Captain Gavin Ong took responsibility of boards three and four, respectively.

In a tough matchup, the veteran duo of Edralin and Ong managed to establish a stalemate in their respective matches, with both racking up half-a-point for the Blue and White. Reyes, on the other hand, failed to put up any markers for Ateneo, succumbing to his Red Warrior counterpart. Cervero was the sole victor of the group, bringing the campaign of the Blue Eagles to a close with the only full point of the matchday.

Cevero was the lone individual medalist for the Blue Eagles, notching a gold medal in the fourth board for his team-leading 11.5 points in UAAP Season 82. He attributed his success to the structured approach he kept in every contest. “Time attack lang sa kalaban ang laging pinapahalagahan ni Coach [Garcia] (Time attack is the method Coach constantly reminds us to keep in mind,)” he mentioned. “Tumira ka lang sa una nang mabilis para maguluhan yung kalaban. Pag crucial na, dun mo uubusin yung oras ng game (I attack quickly in the beginning to confuse the opponent. I finish the time left in the game once the match reaches a crucial point.)

Team Captain Ong felt that his team could have performed better but noted their improvement from the previous season. “I feel like we did not perform as well as expected. We scored a lot more points and we finished the season [with] 21.5 points. It’s a big improvement na from last year around 19.5 points lang,” Ong said. 

Ong continues to remain optimistic looking into the team’s future: “I’m still proud of my team, nonetheless. Honestly, everyone matured. I want to commend Tristan [Cevero] because he showed the most improvement this season. There’s still a process for it.”