At the tail end of a two-week long University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 Chess Tournament, the Ateneo Blue Eagles conclude their campaign with disappointing outcomes. The Women’s Chess Team settled for fourth after being dealt a crushing 2-2 draw by the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons, while the Men’s Team ended its tumultuous campaign in a 0.5-3.5 loss against tournament host Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws today at the FEU Engineering Building in Manila City.
The Blue and White began resoundingly strong in the battle for third against the Lady Falcons, with Alexis Oseña and Glesit Tatoy shining past their opponents. As the Women’s Team was up 2-0 at the conclusion of the first two boards, Ateneo needed a draw from either Merlene Membrere or Laila Nadera to clinch a long-coveted podium finish. Adamson showed signs of life with Queenie Samarita’s win over Membrere to put the Lady Falcons in a prime position to break through with a tie. It was agony for the Blue Eagles as Nadera’s effort against Jellie Magro ended the contest with a 2-2 draw—a result that meant the Blue Eagles had to walk away with a second straight top-four finish, the same result they had in Season 82.
The fourth-place-dealing tie concludes the Women’s Team’s 0-1-2 Final Four campaign after tallying a 1-3-2 win-draw-loss record in the eliminations phase–a stage that was condensed to such a frantic schedule due to the uncharted circumstances of Season 84.
In spite of the disheartening draw, the Women’s Team’s captain and graduating veteran Membrere gave nothing but high praise to her team’s effort and potential for the next season. “I am really proud of them. … [S]ince this is really heartbreaking for us, I know that they [will] learn their lessons and these lessons will be put to their hearts. We’re really hoping that in the next season, we go up to the podium.” Membrere said.
While the Women’s Team was struck with a dismaying draw, the Men’s Team was unable to produce bright spots for Ateneo’s day as it was slumped in its duel against FEU.
Despite looking to close out its rocky season on a high note, the Men’s Team started the day slow as Joshua Tan dropped Board 4 to FEU’s Hanz Olorosismo. The Blue Eagles failed to recuperate as Vince Edralin and Paulo Villa were both dealt losses that piled on the deficit to 0-3. Alexander Santos’ tie versus FEU Tamaraw John Laxamana helped Ateneo stave off the sweep in a rather one-sided affair dominated by the Tamaraws.
Even with Ateneo’s rocky year, Tan stated that he and his team will keep their heads high and take this Season 84 campaign as a learning experience.“It’s from your mistakes that you learn the most, and we look to improve on the things we did wrong. Hopefully, we prepare better for the next [tournament], not just improve the moves itself, but the preparation [as a whole],” Tan said.
The lopsided 0.5-3.5 loss nailed the Men’s Team at a final win-draw-loss slate of 1-0-9, finishing sixth out of six in the Men’s Chess Tournament.
The Blue Eagles’ UAAP Season 84 Chess Tournament ended with the Women’s Team finishing fourth in the team rankings and the Men’s Team settling for last place.
