ANC Square Off Finals Match

Congratulations to Sharms and Charisse from the Ateneo de Manila University for winning the ANC Square Off Debate Championships. They get to go to Thailand this month for the Worlds Debate.

Ahhh, how close we came to achieving that prize! Henry Segovia and Al-Zhoheir Hajim of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University fought off teams from UP Manila, UP Diliman and others to reach the final round only to bow down to the Philippines’ champion debaters. Not bad, I say, for a team dubbed “provincial” by Metro Manila debaters.

To Al and Henry, congratulations! By landing the runners-up title, you have shown the Philippines, on live television, that the Ateneo de Zamboanga University is a formidable player in debate and public speaking. Thank you for taking us this far. My wish is for you guys to be able to pass down to the other Ateneo Debate Union members all the skills and lessons you’ve gained these past four years – may this event not be the highlight of our history, but simply the beginning of our glory.

Haha. I sound like a politician. Going back to Flishi-mode, the ANC finals was a fun evening!

I dolled up for the event – eye shadow, lipstick and all. Hehe. It’s my first time to dabble in makeup, by the way. It’s the Manila effect – everyone else looks so glamorous I feel drab and simple in comparison. Hence the experimentation. Hehehehe. (Get me bling for Christmas!)

Besides, I was to be on live TV! It could be saved forever in Youtub for all I know! Gotta get ready for my close-up! Hehehehe.

I got there at 7am, a whole hour early. I got to join the debaters in the ABS CBN Executive Lounge, and then later on in the dressing room.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look – the cameraman on his way to capture the debaters’ interviews.

There were 5 adjudicators for the match, whereas during the previous rounds there were only 3. It is common to have many adjudicators in final matches – this match was chaired by Atty. Joan de Venecia. She was a debater in college, in fact she once came to Zamboanga to chair the 5th Mindanao Parliamentary Debate Championships, where I debated with my partner Jeff. Wow, that was a long time ago.

After the Championships were announced, we went out for dinner and dessert.

Joining us were Ruth, a former ADU moderator who is currently on study leave here in Manila as I am; Joey, a former ADU debater who is working as a recruiter for eTelecare; and other Ateneo alumni working in Manila.

Anyways. I’ve uploaded photos of the event at my dotPhoto site. Here are the links:

Square Off: Dressing Room

Square Off: The Battle

Square Off: The Afterparty

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