France Santos & Renz Reyes tie for Balboa Cup 1st Best Speaker award!
Last Sunday, August 24, Ateneo de Manila High School debaters France Santos (12A) and Renz Reyes (10A) were both named First Best Speakers of the Tournament at the conclusion of the 20th Balboa Cup. The debating championship was held at the Far Eastern University-FERN Diliman campus in Quezon City on August 21, 23, and 24.
Two other AHS Debaters were also named among the Top Ten Best Speakers of the tournament. Rafa Lapira of 12A was named 5th Best Speaker of the Tournament, while Luigi Alcañeses of 10A was named 8th Best Speaker of the Tournament.
AHS A (Rafa Lapira, Renz Reyes, and France Santos) broke as the top seed out of 42 teams and reached the quarterfinals. AHS B (Luigi Alcañeses, Tres Yap of 12B and Adrian Padilla of 12J) reached the semifinals. AHS C (Josiah Encinas of 12F, Carlos Tiu of 10A, and Paulo Valencia of 10N) reached the octofinals. AHS D (Hans Gonzalez of 9O, Sam Zabat of 9G, and JC Cruz of 10L) made the octofinals. AHS E (Lorenzo Lazaro of 10A, Red Nadela of 10A, and Migui Dela Cruz of 12G) made the octofinals. It was a full contingent break for all Ateneans who competed. They were coached for this tournament by Henry Fernando, Ryan Abis, Javier Pablo, Nick Fortuna, Kiko Santos, Isaac Lee, Martin Abis, and Jovin Pizarro. The team's head coach is Mahar Mangahas.
Now in its 20th year, the Balboa Cup was presented by Children’s Museum and Library, Inc. (CMLI) and joined by 123 debaters. Among the schools which participated in the 2014 Balboa Cup were Ateneo High School, Miriam, Claret School of Quezon City, Xavier, Saint Scholastica, Southridge and Woodrose.
