COMING OFF of yesterday’s victory, the Lady Eagles continued their final four contention with a draw against the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 2-2, to cap off the weekend of games. This marked the sixth round of matches in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Women’s Chess Tournament, which took place on Saturday, September 28, at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila City. 

Despite failing to come away with a win, Ateneo remains at third in the standings, just 0.5 points behind the De La Salle University Lady Archers.

Coach Yves Ranela fielded his regular lineup against NU: Merlene Membrere, Alexis Oseña, Manilyn Cabungcag, and Laila Nadera took boards one, two, three, and four, respectively. 

Boasting the only perfect record of the tournament so far, first-year player Cabungcag kept up her eye-catching form with another win before Nadera followed suit. However, Membrere and Oseña could not overcome their opponents and conceded defeats that locked the score at two apiece.

Nadera shared that despite struggling with her game, she felt satisfied and positive after today’s performance. “It was a hard game actually and I played it aggressively, so even if I was one pawn down I still managed to gain the initiative of the game,” she said. 

Up next for the Lady Eagles is a clash with the University of the East at 1:00 PM on Saturday, October 5, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila City.