Luigi Alcañeses is Overall Best Speaker of SLIDE UP Debate; Four Ateneans Ranked Among Top Ten

From February 28 to March 1, 2015, among the youngest Ateneo Debaters contingents todate competed in the Southern Luzon Interschool Debate Encounter (SLIDE UP). Now in its sixth year, SLIDE UP was held in UP Los Baños and marked the first time the tournament opened itself up to schools from outside of Region IV (Southern Luzon). As such, it drew participation from schools in the NCR and other regions as well.
 
Ateneo de Manila High School sophomore Luigi Alcañeses (10-A) ranked as the Overall Best Speaker of the Tournament out of 108 debaters. Fellow Ateneans Hans Gonzalez (9-M) and Carlos Tiu (10-A) tied as the third best speakers of the tournament, while Sam Zabat (9-G) was ranked as the tenth best speaker of the tournament.

Alcañeses’ award marks the tenth time this school year wherein an Atenean has been named Overall Best Speaker of the competition. Various AHS Debaters teams have also won six championships this year.
 
Team AHS A (Alcañeses, Gonzalez, and Zabat) went undefeated in four preliminary rounds until they were eliminated in the tournament semifinal. Team AHS B, comprised of Tiu, Nicky Solis (10-B), and Ervin Grana (10-L) ended the preliminaries with a 3-1 record but was also eliminated in the semifinals of the tournament.
 
The team extends its thanks to its moderator, Mrs. Czari Oliveros-Manlapaz, and head coach Mr. Mahar Abrera Mangahas. The team was prepared by Mr. Henry Fernando for the competition. The team would also like to thank Mrs. Isobel Solis for accompanying the team throughout the competition.