Griffins pushes for championship in chess

by SHAIRA IWAYAN

Mass highlights alertness for Sportsfest 2023

by FAITH JARHOSET ALIPIO

In an effort to deliver the overall message of this year’s University Sportsfest, Sportsfest Committee

Overall Chairman and main celebrant, Rev. Fr. Leo Alaras, OAR, emphasized how active listening is key towards achieving critical thinking during the institutional mass held at the Oratory of St. Nicholas of Tolentine, Apr. 18.

“We [students and faculty] are trained to speak up, but almost nobody is trained to listen. We just want to be heard, we just want to speak up, but almost nobody wants to listen,” Fr. Alaras said.

The essence of listening which was imparted during the holy mass served as a reminder to uphold the virtues and values needed to be inculcated during the duration of the event.

“Before we [students and faculty] can obey someone, we need understanding and before we understand, we have to listen,” Fr. Alaras added.

UNO-R Supreme Student Government, students, athletes, council officers, faculty and staff, and religious and university organizations, gathered to attend the holy mass in pursuit of guidance for the week-long sports festivity.

Furthermore, the opening ceremony of the event took place after the parade of players wherein athletes from their respective colleges carried their colors as they exhibited their excitement and drive to claim the throne of this year’s Sportsfest Champions.

The Griffins chess team sealed the victory with calculated movements successfully protecting their kings and pushing for a decisive checkmate in a five-round intercollegiate chess tournament for men and women, Apr. 20.

Griffin chessers claimed gold for men’s chess with a score of 15, while Griffin lady chessers ranked second for women’s with eight points, which secured their overall victory in the tournament.

“There was little to no pressure in our team despite the failure to lead the end of the second round for day one as we were only a point behind the leading team,” Griffin chesser Board Four player Excel Rey Morales said.

During rounds one and two on the first day of the tournament, Serpent chessers led the game for the men’s category while Griffin lady chessers led for the women’s category.

As part of gearing up, the chess players from every college not only immersed themselves in team practices, but also employed individual measures that efficiently enhanced their tactics and critical thinking during the actual tournament.

“The team was advised by our coach to finish 15 games of online chess per day as part of our intense preparation,” ‘Most Valuable Player’ for men’s chess, Emanuel Tonato shared.

Bringing home the gold for women’s chess, Serpent lady chessers ended the game before the time ran out in an indefectible sweep with a perfect score of 12 points hailing Chloe Jane Abalos as the ‘Most Valuable Player’ for women.

“I always try not to reach the endgame as my personal weakness during the tournament was the time. [Fortunately], I was able to conclude the rounds with no defeat together with my teammates,” Abalos said.

Moreover, every college sent four chessers and three lady chessers to vie for the champ title. Dragon lady chessers, however, lost by default as they were not able to send their line-up for the two-day event.