AHS Debaters Bag Team Distinctions and Individual Speaker Awards In Collegiate Debate Competitions

The Ateneo High School Debaters competed in two recent college debate championships this December to hone and improve their skills for future high school tournaments.
 
Political Science Debate Summit
 
Last 14-15 December 2013, the team joined the Political Science Debate Championship (PSDS) hosted by the Loyola Schools’ Ateneo Debate Society in association with The Assembly, the organization of LS Political Science Majors. The tournament, held in the Asian Parliamentary Format, had issues and topics relevant to Philippine politics today, and included workshops and talks by distinguished individuals in fields of politics, such as Mr. Ramon Magsaysay Jr.
 
Team AHS B, comprised of Mon Asuncion (3G), Derrick Ampil (3J), and Luigi Alcaneses (1A) broke into the quarterfinals of the tournament, becoming the first ever all-high school team to qualify for the elimination rounds in the two year history of the competition. They were disallowed, however, from competing in the Quarterfinals because their team did not have one current Social Sciences major from any college or university. In spite of this rule, the higher goal of learning and training was met by the team. Team AHS C, comprised of Nicky Solis (1B), Ervin Grana (1D), Paulo Valencia (1H) also competed in the PSDS.
 
Derrick Ampil was ranked as the 8^th Best Speaker of the competition, impressing judges and organizers alike, showing that high school debaters can compete and excel at the collegiate level.
 
Team AHS A, comprised of AHS coaches Henry Fernando (4A 2010), Kiko Santos (4A 2013), and Ms. Jopi Esquivias (a sophomore Political Science Major) reached the Grand Finals of the competition but lost on a 2-1 split decision. Henry Fernando was ranked as the 2^nd Best Speaker of the tournament.
 
First Bulacan Debate Open
 
Last 18-20 December 2013, the Ateneo Debaters competed in the inaugural Bulacan Debate Open, a competition which anyone is allowed to compete in—high school students, college students, law school students, and long-time college graduates alike.
 
Pictured in the photo at right is Team AHS A (from left: Luigi Alcañeses, Renz Reyes, and Carlos Tiu- all from 1A), which put on an exemplary performance and broke as the 5^th best team of the tournament into the elimination rounds. Alcañeses, Reyes and Tiu  won their pre-semifinal match against UP Manila on a 3-2 split, but were eliminated in the semifinals.
 
Luigi Alcañeses was ranked as the 10^th Best Speaker of the tournament—the first ever high school student in tournament history to reach the top ten. All those ranked above him were college or law school students, or debaters who have already graduated from college.
 
Team Pabis, comprised of Ateneo Debaters alumni Henry Fernando, Javier Pablo (4A 2013), and Ryan Abis (4B 2013) broke as the top seeded team in the entire tournament after earning a 5-0 record. They reached the Grand Final but lost in a very close debate, on the motion “This House Laments The Overglorification Of The People Power Revolution”.
 
Henry Fernando was recognized as the Best Speaker of the Grand Finals, and was ranked as the 2^nd Best Speaker of the competition. Javier Pablo was ranked as the 7^th Best Speaker of the Competition.
 
The team also recognizes Ervin Grana, Nicky Solis, and JC Cruz (1F) for their participation in the Bulacan Debate Open.