The Blue and Lady Eagles opened their second joust in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Chess tournament on Sunday, February 18. The Blue Eagles faced the University of the East (UE), while the Lady Eagles took on the University of the Philippines (UP), at the University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) QPAZ Building.
Lady Eagles
The Lady Eagles ended the day with unfavorable results as they fell to their opponents from UP on all boards. Day 2 ended with the Lady Eagles still in the search for the first point to add to their overall season score.
On board one, Minella Salazar fell to UP’s Pia Casiano, which left the Lady Eagles trailing at 0-1. The team’s struggles continued as Janela Salazar was bested by Arvie Lozano on board two. With hopes of turning things around, Aryanne De Ocampo went toe-to-toe with UP’s Ynna Canape, but failed to snag the win for a 0-3 scoreline.
Ateneo’s last hope, Team Captain Jasmine Principe stepped up against Ruth De Guzman with hopes to put one in the win-column. Despite her relentless efforts, Principe fell to De Guzman to call it a day for the team.
Admitting the weight of the loss of certain key players, Principe pinpointed the source of the Lady Eagles’ misfortunes to their lack of confidence. Despite the setback this weekend, the Lady Eagles are primed to turn things around in their next matches.
“Siyempre, medyo disappointed [kami] this weekend kasi zero kami [sa] first weekend. Pero we’re going to prepare this week for the upcoming games (Obviously we’re disappointed this weekend because we scored zero in the first weekend. But we’re going to prepare this week for the upcoming games),” shared Principe.
Blue Eagles
Coming off a draw in their first team-tie against Far Eastern University (FEU), the Blue Eagles entered their next battle with high hopes. Unfortunately, the results were not in their favor as they lost to UE at a 1-3 finish. Before the day ended, however, they were able to add one point to their season score, bumping their record up to three points.
Keefe Tan was first up for the Blue and White as he faced UE’s Kimuel Lorenzo on board one, but Tan was bested as the Blue Eagles fell behind at 0-1. On boards two and four, Team Captain Gavin Ong and Jolo Lat were defeated by their opponents Keneth Flores and Ronald Barcelou, respectively.
The Blue Eagles’ final battle placed Renzo Marquez on board three, as he went head-to-head with UE’s Eliseo Budoso. Marquez bested his UE foe and picked up the only win, ending the day at a score of 1-3.
“Today’s game was frustrating, but I’m glad we put up a big fight. Even though we lost we still did really well. Our opponents were really tough and I expected the worst, but we were able to pull off a win,” said Ong.
The Blue and Lady Eagles’ next match is scheduled on Saturday, February 24. The Blue Eagles will face UST while the Lady Eagles will take on their rivals from De La Salle University (DLSU).
