AB upsets Engineering, wins Pautakan 2002

IT ALL ended in an unexpected fashion.

The Faculty of Arts and Letters defeated the Faculty of Engineering in latter’s own game to end a 13-year drought in the “Pautakan 2002: The Silver Edition,” the UST annual intercollegiate quiz contest last Feb. 23 at Medicine Auditorium.

“It really paid off all the effort, all the sweat, ang dami naming pinagdaanan and we are so happy (we won),” said a jubilant Prof. Rhodora Lintag, one of coaches of the all-male AB squad, after the contest.

The AB team secured the crown after answering the Math question to gain a two-answer lead with a question left in the clincher round. The Engineering team, which “monopolized” the Math category during the final round, were beaten to the buzzer by the AB squad. Against widespread expectations, the team was able to answer correctly the Math problem, usually AB’s waterloo.

“(It was a) sweet revenge. Kung (sa bawat) Math question ay confident sila na sila ang makakakuha (pero dahil sa nasagot namin ‘yon), masasabi natin na AB and Math are two worlds that can be together now,” said Asian Studies junior Armand Vincent Delfin, who was responsible for solving the Math problem.

It was a dramatic victory for AB, who had to register a correct answer in the final round’s last question to tie and force a clinching round with Engineering. But what made the win more exciting was the fact that it was AB’s first correct anwer in the Math category during the contest.

In the finals, Engineering was near-flawless with the Math question failing to answer only once because of time constraints.

The College of Commerce placed third.

Last year, Engineering won the title and AB was first runner-up.

“Sayang, but it’s ok. At least we proved something. (Even with the departure of four of our former members), we showed them we are a formidable team na hindi lang basta-basta,” Engineering team captain Alwin German said.

Aside from Delfin, other members of the champion squad included Economics senior and team captain Ricky Opeña, Journalism senior Paul Ernest Lazaro, Behavioral Science junior Berjer Capati, sophomores Wilfred Ritona and Patrick Ryan Gamboa, and Political Science freshman Precious Lopez. Prof. Francis Peebert Bugarin was the other adviser of the team.

On the other hand, Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE) senior Ronald Pineda, juniors Kaye Lorraine Ong (Industrial Engineering), Mark Anthony Ancheta (Civil Engineering), and Germaine Lisa Ang (Electrical Engineering), ECE sophomore Yvette Kristine Taberna, and ECE freshman Jennifer Balog completed the cast of the Engineering team. Engrs. Andrew Benedict Tengkiat and Michael Francis Benjamin were the coaches.

In the individual category, Ang edged Ritona to succeed Engineering alumnus Christian Anthony Reyes as champion.

“Masaya ako na malungkot kasi gusto rin naming manalo sa team (category). Probably siguro next year (makakabawi kami),” Ang said.

Biochemistry senior Earl Louis Sempio of the Faculty of Pharmacy placed third in the individual category. Teodoro Lorenzo A. Fernandez