After struggling in the past two seasons, Woman FIDE Master Jia Doroy saved her best for last by claiming her second MVP award in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Chess Tournament, leading National University to the women’s chess championship.
Playing in her final year, Doroy’s journey came full circle as she made sure to leave a lasting legacy with an inspired and dominant performance.
“All-out na talaga yung binigay kong performance ngayon.
“Kumbaga, lahat ng best binigay ko na. Binigyan ko talaga ng panahon yung preparation. Nag-training talaga ko kasi gusto ko talagang bumawi ngayong season. Worth it naman yung training ko,” said Doroy, who clinched the MVP plum along with the Board 1 gold medal.
Doroy first led the Lady Bulldogs to their historic first women’s title back in Season 84. There, she also earned the Rookie of the Year and MVP honors — a campaign that sparked NU’s run of two straight championships.
However, the Sampaloc-based squad lost steam in Seasons 86 and 87, settling for second- and third-place finishes, respectively.
She admitted that those setbacks, combined with the challenges of balancing academics and training, became her motivation to go all out in her final UAAP season.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“Grabe din kasi talaga ka-struggle the past two seasons. Nandun yung pressure tsaka very stressed talaga ko nun kasi nagsabay-sabay lahat. Siyempre graduating ka, may OJT ka tapos nagti-thesis din. Tapos may comprehensive exam din kami. So sobrang hirap yun para sa part ko,” she shared.
“Kaya masasabi ko talagang hindi ganun kaganda yung naging performance ko last two seasons.”
Now 24, Doroy has successfully completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Physical Education and Sports at NU — a move that gave her one more opportunity to wear the blue and gold.
Doroy led by example on the top board, finishing with a near-perfect 10 points out of 12 matches.
She went undefeated through the early rounds, even scoring seven straight wins before yielding in Round 12. Then she closed out the tournament strongly to seal the championship.
“Tiwala naman ako na kaya nila mag-back-to-back next season kasi may mga bago naman tayong players sa high school na magka-college,” Doroy expressed.
“Lahat naman sila magagaling tapos nandiyan pa yung natirang teammates ko na tumulong sa’kin ngayon na mag-champion.”
