BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — A Baguio boy and his team mate made history after winning in the world’s largest debate tournament held on December 27, 2022 to January 4, 2023 in Madrid, Spain.
The tandem of Robert Nelson “Tobi” Leung and David Africa from the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) representing the Philippines won over hundreds of institutions in the world to bring home the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) title on Wednesday, Jan.
The duo bested other teams from the Sofia University of Bulgaria, Tel Aviv University of Israel, and the Princeton University in the United States of America in the grand finals.
This is the first time in the tournament’s 42-year history that the Philippines emerged the champion. This also makes ADMU the second university in Asia to win the championship after a team from BRAC University in Dhaka, Bangladesh won the championship in 2021.
Leung was hailed as the tournament’s second best speaker which is the highest rank ever achieved by a Filipino in the WUDC. This was the first appearance for Leung and the third for Africa at the WUDC Grand Finals.
The Baguio boy, an alumnus of the PSHS-Cordillera Administrative Region Campus in Baguio City Batch 2021, is a sophomore while Africa is a fourth year student, and are both taking up Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics with specialization in Data Science.
In October 2022, the Ateneo Debate Society composed of Leung, Africa and Quintin Chua were the grand champion in the Malaysia United Debating Championship 2022 and the first ranking team in Asia. Africa was named as the Overall Best Speaker of Asia, Leung was the second best speaker of Asia and the Finals Best Speaker while Chua was the third Best Speaker of Asia.
In October 2022, the Ateneo Debate Society composed of Leung, Africa and Quintin Chua were the grand champions in the Malaysia United Debating Championship 2022 and the first ranking team in Asia. Africa was named as the Overall Best Speaker of Asia, Leung was the second best speaker of Asia and the Finals Best Speaker while Chua was the third Best Speaker of Asia.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Science High School System commended Leung for winning the world championships.
“Leung, along with fellow Atenean David Africa, made history as the first from the Philippines and Southeast Asia to win in the prestigious WUDC. They outclassed teams from Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, National University of Singapore, and London School of Economics,” the PSHS said in a social media post.
The PSHS said that in 2021, Leung won the title as Overall Best Speaker at the World Schools Debate Championships He was the first Filipino awarded with the said distinction in what is regarded as the Olympics of high school debaters.
He also led the PSHS-CARC to win as champion in the 2020 and 2021 Philippine Schools Debate Championships, the biggest and longest running high school debate competition in the country, making PSHS-CARC the first school outside Metro Manila to win the championship.
Leung graduated with highest general weighted average in the entire PSHS System composed of 16 campuses nationwide for school year 2020-2021. He was the recipient of Excellence Awards in English, Social Science, and Research. He was also received the PSHS Leadership Award.
Leung is the son of Orthopedic physician Dr. Jean Pierre Leung. (JDP/RMC-PIA CAR) (ADMU photos)
