THE UST Male Woodpushers will vie for their third-straight title in the upcoming UAAP Season 86 chess tournament, a feat they haven’t achieved in more than two decades.
Woodpushers head coach Ronald Dableo said he was confident in UST’s powerhouse men’s team.
“I really don’t have much to tell them because even us coaches have seen the strength of the men’s team,” he told the Varsitarian. “They’re almost beating us in practice.”
The Woodpushers last achieved a three-peat from 1995 to 1998, spanning Seasons 59 to 61.
They won Season 84 and 85’s chess tournaments in the same calendar year.
“I think we can still sustain the championship,” Dableo said. “Hopefully, the performance in the men’s division will continue, and we might even achieve a grand slam because we’re still quite a powerhouse even though we’ve lost some players. Actually, the new additions are even stronger.”
Season 85 MVP Julius Gonzales, gold medalist Brylle Vinluan, and Season 84 silver medalist Melito Oscan Jr. will lead UST in Season 86.
The team lost Season 85 gold medalists Lee Roi Palma, who failed to meet the required academic status for student-athletes, and Antonio Almodal III, who recently graduated from the University.
However, UST will receive a boost with the addition of Mark Daluz, a Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) master, along with newcomers Chester Reyes from National University and Carl Daluz.
“Mark Daluz is what our team is proud of now…He’s solid,” Dableo said.
Daluz hails from the junior team of Colegio de San Juan de Letran. He completed his residency with UST in the previous year.
The UAAP Season 86 chess tournaments will begin on Saturday, Oct. 14, 1 p.m., at the FEU Tech Gym. The UST Male Woodpushers will open their campaign against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, while the UST Lady Woodpushers will face the UP Fighting Maroons.
The UAAP will implement a new scoring system for the team’s overall result that aligns with rules implemented by the FIDE. The league will adopt the match point rules used in the FIDE Chess Olympiad, where a win scores two points, a draw scores one point, and a loss scores 0 points. Jose Gabriel V. Ignacio
