For years, the UST men’s chess team could only watch as other schools racked up championships. That all changed in Season 75 in 2012, when the Male Woodpushers finally ended a 13-year drought by toppling FEU and halting the Tamaraws’ six-year reign.
It was supposed to be the start of a new era for UST chess, but the breakthrough fizzled out as the Male Woodpushers’ winning core failed to replicate their championship run the following season, which UST head coach Ronald Dableo attributed to funding problems that left UST outmatched in recruitment.
What followed was a bleak but familiar situation for UST men’s chess: six straight years without a title. Dableo, himself an international master, grew desperate. He knew he needed to find the right pieces to turn the program around.
His search led him to Julius Gonzales, Melito Ocsan Jr., and Lee Roi Palma, and later to Mark Daluz and brothers Chester and Mark Reyes. With them, UST began a long road back to glory, starting with a bronze in Season 82.
“Sila talaga ‘yong nagpa-champion sa team natin,” Dableo told the Varsitarian. Walang question ‘yon, kitang-kita naman.”
Four championships later, the Male Woodpushers have become the face of a new UAAP chess dynasty — one painstakingly built from the ground up.
Dableo’s gambit
From Seasons 77 to 80, Dableo relied on UST’s high school chess program pipeline to supply talent for the Male Woodpushers.
“Talagang nag-homegrown talent na rin ako noon. Although, ang hirap din ‘yong aakyat ‘yong high school sa college kasi nag-ibang level,” he said.
By Season 81 in 2018, the student allowance at UST was more than doubled, and Dableo amped up his recruitment and brought in former NU junior chess team standouts. However, even they were not enough to spark a winning run, as the Male Woodpushers finished fifth that year.
“Noong nagkaroon ng drought, ang ginawa ko noon, talagang naging desperate ako that time. Imagine mo, umangat na ‘yong allowance, wala pa rin napasok,” he said.
That’s when Dableo played a gambit — a calculated sacrifice for a bigger payoff.
He gave up the team’s sixth-player slot and offered its allowance, on top of an initial base allowance, to Gonzales, a former La Salle Greenhills standout and multiple-time Palarong Pambansa gold medalist.
“Ang ginawa ko noon, humahanap ako ng isang magaling talaga, si Julius Gonzales,” Dableo recalled. “Kinausap ko ‘yong tatay niya. Anim lang ang slots, at ‘yong pang-anim na slot, in-offer ko na sa kanila para magkaroon lang ng solid na ulo sa boards.”
Dableo’s pieces then fell into place as Gonzales’ recruitment paved the way for UST to entice other junior standouts, such as Ocsan, who helped the Letran Squires capture two NCAA championships, and Palma, a former UAAP boys’ MVP, to join its chess program.
Gonzales, Ocsan, and Palma, alongside Brylle Vinluan and Antonio Almodal III, immediately made an impact, winning silver in Season 82 for the Male Woodpushers’ first podium finish in four years.
When the UAAP returned after the pandemic, the same core finally ended UST’s seven-year title drought by capturing the Season 84 title.
It wasn’t long before players took notice of what Dableo was building at UST, as three-time NCAA juniors MVP Mark Daluz and NUNS standouts, brothers Chester and Mark Reyes, came in and further reinforced the Male Woodpushers.
Gonzales and Ocsan were key to cementing UST’s place in UAAP chess, winning MVP awards in Seasons 85 and 86, respectively, before leading the Male Woodpushers to a historic four-peat in Season 87. It was also the year they passed the torch to Daluz, the reigning UAAP MVP.
“Sila (Gonzales and Ocsan) ‘yong nag-start ng dynasty talaga. Nagihihilahan na ‘yong mga players sa boards tapos ‘yong word of mouth na ‘Ah maganda sa UST.’ Marami na ring nagkaroon ng interest pumasok noong nakita na sila,” he said.
Bright future
In Season 87, the Male Woodpushers further solidified their historic run by claiming the inaugural UAAP rapid chess championship and snagging silver in blitz chess.
Progress, however, has been slow for the Lady Woodpushers, who finished sixth for the second straight year in Season 87. They fared better in the blitz and rapid tournaments, placing fourth in both.
At the high school level, UST won silver medals in the boys’ and girls’ standard chess categories. The Junior Lady Woodpushers clinched the inaugural rapid chess title, while the Junior Male Woodpushers took home the blitz crown.
Dableo, also a first-class cadet in the Philippine military, said he would keep developing UST’s chess program by maintaining the camaraderie and discipline he, alongside assistant coach Darwin Laylo, instilled across all divisions.
“Pinakikisamahan kasi namin ‘yong mga bata,” he said. “Kung ano ‘yong para sa kanila, talagang nakakukuha nila ‘yon. Tinuturing kong sariling anak na ‘yang mga bata. Sila na rin ‘yong nagbebenta sa school natin para kumuha at mag-attract ng players.”
“Sila na mismo ‘yong nag-eencourage din sa ibang players na kakilala nila na magaling. Dito, si coach, wala ka nang alalahanin. Basta sumunod ka lang nang maayos at saka mag-aral nang mabuti.”
UST’s dynastic identity in chess has made recruitment easier for Dableo. Among the most recent standouts to join the team was Alekhine Nouri, the youngest player in the world to become a FIDE master.
Nouri, a UST Junior Male Woodpusher and current UAAP boys’ blitz MVP, is expected to bolster the men’s team after Daluz graduates in Season 89.
With the present core intact and its future secured, Dableo is confident that UST could extend its dynasty for at least three more years — enough to break the UAAP record of six straight championships, held by DLSU and FEU.
“Kung papalarin din, siyempre, with the grace ng nasa taas natin, feeling ko baka hanggang eight years pa ‘yong (championship streak). Hanggang sa pag-graduate pa ni Nouri. ‘Yon ang napo-project ko,” he said. “Aakyat pa si Nouri. May isang year na lang si Mark. Si Chester may dalawa pa. So tatlo na ‘yon. Kung magtutuloy-tuloy, tatlong years pa.”
“Matibay pa ang pundasyon ng team.”
