THE ATENEO Men’s Chess Team kicked off University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 journey with a draw against National University (NU) Bulldogs on Saturday, September 14 and a loss against the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons on Sunday, September 15. The opening weekend took place at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila. Ateneo recorded a total of 3.0 points to begin the season.
The Blue Eagles brought experience to the table for both match days. Returning players Vince Edralin, Tristan Jared Cervero, and Alexander Santos filled up boards one, two, and four, respectively, while Team Captain Gavin Ong was situated at board three.
In the preliminary contest against NU, Ateneo opened the round with a commanding win from Santos, while Cervero served the tying blow to close out the series. Veterans Ong and Edralin, on the other hand, did not succeed despite their commending efforts. They both fell to their Bulldog counterparts, attaining zero points each in the process. The Saturday matchday ended with the score reading 2-2 for the Blue Eagles.
The following day resulted in a loss for the team. Despite their efforts, the Blue Eagles failed to score a win, dropping two games to the Falcons and the other two matches resulting in a draw. Ong and Cervero managed to record a combined one point, while the remaining members did not score. The final result was 1-3 in favor of AdU.
Despite these results, Head Coach Jan Emmanuel Garcia remains undeterred and optimistic about his squad’s potential. “Hanggang Final Four kakayanin namin. Yun ang potensyal na puwedeng abutin ng team (We hope to get to the Final Four. That is the potential we can reach as a team),” he said. “Last year, pampito lang kami. Gusto namin umangat sa rankings, na mas gumaling kumpara sa nakaraang taon (We were seventh place last season. We hope to ascend in the ranks and to perform much better compared to the previous year).”
The Blue Eagles have the chance to fight another day against the University of the East Red Warriors on Saturday, September 21, 1:00 PM. The team will face the UST Growling Tigers as their opponent on Sunday, September 22, 1:00 PM. Both match days will be held at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
