ADS Powerpuffs Save the Day, Bag Malaysian Gold

by Joe Ledesma

The Powerpuff Girls, an all-Ateneo team composed of Gica Mangahas (4 BA SOS), Shiveena Parmanand (4 AB DS), and Ces Gotamco (4 AB DS) took home the championship of the 3rd Malaysia Debate Open.

The Debate Open was held in The Multimedia University in Melaka, Malaysia, on March 3-8, 2011. The Powerpuff Girls went through eleven gruelling rounds before besting Dog Curry, an international team composed of Logan Balavijendran, Suthen Thomas and Nam Chull Kim, with a 5-2 split in the Finals. The team won by successfully opposing the motion, “THBT cultural compatibility is legitimate grounds for differential immigration policies.”

Although the Powerpuff Girls won the Finals, Balavijendran was awarded as Best Speaker of the Finals. He also was the 1st Best Speaker for the preliminaries while his partner Thomas placed second.

This year’s MDO drew over one hundred teams from countries all over Southeast Asia. This championship shows that once again, the Ateneo Debate Society isn’t only one of the best in the Philippines, but one of the best in Asia. Mangahas nabbed 6th Best Speaker in a tournament of 300 individuals.

Ateneo X, composed of Walter Wong (3 BS ME), Allan Cabrera (1 BSM AMF), and James Cruz (2 BS MGT-H) reached the quarter-finals. Ateneo Y, composed of Patrick Cocabo (4 BS LM), Liane Aquino (1 BS LM), and Joseph Ledesma (I AB COM) was within a victory of advancing from the preliminaries with a 4-3 win-loss card.

In the next few months, the ADS looks at its next few hurdles: two championships to defend in the Philippine Intercollegiate Debate Championship this April 6 – 11 and the United Asians Debate Championship On May 16 – 23.

Semi-Finalists

Sugarfree (Rolan, Dani, Jayson)

Team Sum ( Kanna, Reuban, Syed Arafat)

Quarter Finalists

IIUM 2 (Habib, Azrul, Azri)

IIUM 3 (Irzal, Sarah, Senad)

Ateneo X (Walter, James, Allan)

NTU 1 (Arvind, Rohan, Milind)

Octo Finalists

LAG (Groobie, Lavania, Timothy)

MIDP 1Msia ( Hafiz, Tubby, Sooch)

NUS (Ashok, Sadhana, Aji)

NLSIU 1 (Anirudha, Anil, Dibyojhoti)

Two and a Half Girls (Aina, Aerie, Mai)

Obamamamas (Ain, Izzat, Atiq)

Waseda (Kowa, Marie, Takeru)

Top 10 Best Speakers

1. Logan (Dog Curry)

2. Tate (Dog Curry)

3. Timothy Andrew (LAG)

4. Dani De Castro (Sugafree)

5. Tubby (MIDP 1 Malaysia)

6. Gica Mangahas (Powerpuff Girls)

7. Rolan Garcia (Sugafree)

7. Jayson Maulit (Sugafree)

9. Hafiedz (MIDP 1 Malaysia)

9. Sooch(MIDP 1 Malaysia)

Octofinals

LAG Vs. ILUM 2

MIDP 1 Malaysia Vs. ILUM 3

Sugafree Vs. Waseda

Ateneo X Vs. Omamamamas

Team Sum Vs. Two and a Half Girls

NTU 3 Vs. NTU 1

Dog Curry Vs. NLSIU 1

Powerpuff Girls Vs. NUS 4

Quarterfinals

ILUM 2 Vs. Dog Curry

ILUM 3 Vs. Powerpuff Girls

Sugafree Vs. NTU 1

Ateneo X Vs. Team Sum

Semifinals

Sugafree Vs. Dog Curry

Team Sum Vs. Powerpuff Girls