After a gritting defeat in the championship match against the College of Saint Benilde (CSB) Chess Team, the Mapúa Woodpushers ended with a decent second place finish in the NCAA Chess tourney last September 21 at the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Gymnasium.
Team Captain Julius de Ramos (ME-4) battled for board one while Adrian Perez (ECE-2), Francis Ligon (CoE-1) and Elexiel Burze (ECE-1) did the skirmish for boards two to four respectively. The neck-tight game produced a win, a draw and two losses for the Woodpushers. “Dikit talaga yung laban, pero dahil kakafinals pa lang nila (Mapúa Woodpushers) sa school, nahirapan din sila. Yung Benilde kasi nakapagprepare ng maayos kasi bakasyon nila,” said Coach Melchor Divina.
The Woodpushers earned their stint to the finals, with the help of rookie players Ergin Nigel Pelayo (ECE-1) and John Priter Zafe (CoE-2), by beating Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL) twice during the semis.
Courtesy of The New Builder