Ateneo Debaters Win Ped Xing ASEAN championship; Alcañeses is best speaker of the finals!
The Ateneo High School Debate Team has won the Ped Xing ASEAN Debate Championship. Last 18-19 October 2014, the Ateneo High School was invited to participate in the Debate Competition sponsored by the University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus in cooperation with the UP Political Society. The event was attended by close to twenty private and public schools both within and outside of Metro Manila. The weekend’s events included lectures and seminars about the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in today’s rapidly changing world, a series of interactions between the delegates from different schools, a quiz bee, a poster-making competition, and an essay writing competition.
Team AHS A was comprised of Masters Adrian Padilla (12 J), Luigi Alcañeses (10 A), and Renz Reyes (10 A)—all current members of the Philippine Debate Team training pool which will be competing in the World Schools Debate Championships in Singapore in 2015. After two preliminary rounds, the team was ranked first with a perfect record and the highest number of total speaker points, as it was named as the first team advancing to the Semifinals.
In the Grand Finals, the team opposed the motion, “This house would postpone ASEAN Integration until 2025.” The team won by proving that (1) ASEAN Countries, including the Philippines, were ready for ASEAN Integration by 2015, and (2) it was urgent for ASEAN Countries to merge into a single market system to address both local and global challenges in a new world context. The team defeated the debaters from Meridian International Learning Experience (MILE) in the final. The Best Speaker of the Finals was the Leader of the Opposition, Luigi Alcañeses.
Ateneo Debaters Are Runners Up at IDeA Invitational
Last 4-5 October 2014, the team competed at the First Interscholastic Debaters Association (IDeA) Invitational, hosted at St. Paul’s College, Pasig. In the tournament, the team provided stellar output by being named as the runners up of the competition and having four speakers named to the Top Ten Speakers of the tournament.
Two out of four AHS Teams reached the Grand Finals of the tournament, attended by over fifty teams. Team AHS D, comprised of Tres Yap (12 B) and Luigi Alcaneses, was named as the 2nd Place finisher in the final to Champions Miriam College A. Team AHS B, comprised of Rafa Lapira (12 A) and France Santos (12 A), also debated in the Grand Final of the competition. The finals topic was “This house regrets the Arab Spring.” Team AHS A—consisting of Poch Kalagayan (12 A) and Miguel Guerrero (12 A)—reached the semifinals of the competition, while Team AHS C, comprised of Adrian Padilla and Renz Reyes, narrowly missed the elimination rounds by coming in at 17th rank after three preliminary rounds.
Poch Kalagayan was ranked as the 4th Best Speaker of the Tournament, Miguel Guerrero was awarded 5th, while Tres Yap and France Santos were tied for 7th Best Speakers. Rafa Lapira and Luigi Alcaneses missed the Top Ten List by only 1 point, with the two members coming in at 11th out of over one hundred debaters.
The team is moderated by Mrs. Czari Oliveros-Manlapaz of the English Subject Area. The head coach of the team is Mr. Mahar Abrera Mangahas, assisted by Henry Fernando, Nick Fortuna, Miguel Ventura, Isaac Lee, Kiko Santos, Ryan Abis, and Javier Pablo for the competitions.
The Ateneo Debaters extend their heartfelt gratitude to the Ateneo High School community for its enduring support in their endeavors.
