THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Eagles began the second round robin of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 Chess tournament from February 27 to 28 at the Henry Sy Sr. Hall in De La Salle University (DLSU), Manila.
Lady Eagles
The lady woodpushers were able to bounce back from their 0-4 loss against the Adamson University (AdU) by drawing against the University of the East during their Saturday match. It was a symbolic victory for the Ateneo, as Jasmine Principe’s win ended her individual losing streak of 18 matches.
Meanwhile, round nine saw the Lady Eagles only able to grab a single point against the University of Santo Tomas, as they ended the day with a 1-3 result. Team Captain Bren Membrere, who secured the Lady Eagle’s only win, said that moving forward, the team will try to learn from their mistakes. “We recognize we’re a young team so our mentality is to stay positive and still have fun,” Gabrielle Ablang added.
Blue Eagles
The blue woodpushers ended their second meeting against AdU with another draw. It was another steady performance for the Blue and White, who have not been beaten in the overall match scores since the third day of the tournament.
However, the Katipunan-based squad’s ninth-round matchup was against the National University (NU), who currently top the tournament standings with 53 points to spare. In the huddle before the match, graduating Blue Eagle Jude Que said that their coach acknowledged that they were the underdogs, but that they should keep faith in their own capabilities.
Ultimately, it was Team Captain Jem Garcia who was able to pull through for the Blue Eagles. He salvaged a draw to prevent a sweep for the blue woodpushers, who still lost the match, 0.5-3.5. Although the loss shackles the Ateneo to its fifth place standing, Que still believes that third and fourth place are within striking distance.
Round 10 of the tournament will be at 1:00 PM, Saturday, March 5 at the Henry Sy Sr. Hall in DLSU, Manila, where the Blue Eagles face the University of the Philippines while the Lady Eagles take on NU.
