Smith Perez from SEA A giving his speech during the grand finals of the Ignatian Cup debates. Photo by Charlotte Billy Sabanal

The battle of wits and ideas came to a climactic finish during the final round of the 2016 Ignatian Cup held at the Finster Auditorium last Aug. 13 with the Tigers and Griffins coming out on top in the Debates and Extemporaneous Dialogue categories, respectively.

Carlo Escarda, Smith Perez, and Seve Europa of School of Engineering and Architecture A (SEA A) outmatched Aila Ampatuan, Gabrielle Giner, and Geena Cajeta of Social Sciences A (SS A) to retain SEA’s title as Ignatian Cup Debate champions for one more year.

The teams debated on the motion, “This House believes that developed countries should make environment-friendly policies a precondition to trade deals.” SS A fought for the government side while SEA A defended the opposition.

After an initial 4-3 split, the board of judges unanimously declared the Tigers as the winners of the 2016 Ignatian Cup Debates.

For the members of SEA A, the journey to the top was rather unanticipated.

“Honestly, I’m really joyful because we were called just 12 hours before the eliminations and we [surprisingly] reached the finals. Knowing [the circumstances], our win seemed to be unexpected,” Finals Best Speaker Smith Perez said.

Meanwhile in the Extemporaneous Dialogue competition, the Accountancy Griffins soared above the Business and Management Vipers and the School of Education Sharks.

The tandem of Nikko Cabiles and Ernie Cajes bested the two other teams after discussing the motion, “This House would make Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) mandatory.”

The two believed that their naturally contrasting thoughts on the ROTC helped them form a compelling dialogue.

“We were CAT officers in high school, and the moment we were given the topic we had to discuss, we already knew about our conflicting views. Ernie’s experience was more on military training while mine was more on civil service, which [helped develop] our different perspectives on the issue,” Cabiles said.

The Ignatian Cup is an event organized by the Ateneo Debate Varsity (ADV) that seeks to develop a culture of critical thinking through debates and extemporaneous dialogue and is held annually during the Ateneo de Davao University’s Fiesta celebration.