Dagupea to lead PH team in 6th ASEAN Quiz by Peter Vincent V.

Quetulio Its the same competition, same region, same division, same school, same coach, different student, and same result. A third year student from Dagupan City once again claimed the championship crown in the 6th National Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Quiz Bee held last January 23, 2014. Reysanelle Claire Gomez Balolong of St. Albert the Great School (SAGS) bested 15 other regional contestants from all over the country to earn the right to represent Team Philippines in the International ASEAN Quiz Bee on August 24, 2014 in Vietnam. Team Philippines will be composed of Balolong, second placer Kyle Vincent Singson of the National Capital Region and third placer John Vincent Derla of Region 7. Balolongs victory is the second consecutive time (and fourth overall) that a student from Dagupan City and SAGS won the biennial event. In 2012, Franchesca Anne Inacay of SAGS won the national event and went on to clinch the 5th International ASEAN Quiz Bee title held in Cambodia. Answering questions on ASEAN culture and politics, Balolong scored a total of 80 points out of 100 to beat her rivals. Balolong topped the Regional Quiz Bee two weeks earlier. During the early rounds of the contest, Balolong missed many of the easy questions. This worried her coach, Vic Agbayani and SAGS principal, Adelaida Carvajal. Naiiyak na po ako noong oras na yun, Balolong admitted. Pero nagdasal na lang po ako kay Lord for a miracle. Balolong got her miracle as she was able climb up the leaderboard the next round and never faltered since then. She edged out Singson in the final difficult round by just four points. I feel blessed and honored to represent the country again. But honestly, Im also relieved to keep the ASEAN tradition of SAGS alive, Balolong added. Coming from a school that has produced multiple national and international ASEAN Quiz champions in the past decade, Balolong is fully aware of peoples high expectations and the pressure to do well in the competition. The pressure to win is always there, but it is the good kind of pressure because it made Reysanelle and Sir Vic train and strive harder. The entire Albertian community prayed harder, Carvajal shared.

Besides bringing honor and prestige to Dagupan City and SAGS, Balolong brought home P20,000, a medal, and a trophy. Agbayani said they will take a break from training for the next two months so Reysanelle could rest and catch up on her missed lessons in school. We assure everyone that we will do our best to defend the title in August, but we will need everyones support and prayers again. Agbayani added they plan to train harder in the summer while Balolongs teammates will have their own training in their respective schools.