Dagupan girl leads PH team in Asean conquest

FRANCHESCA Anne Inacay (right) of the St. Albert the Great School (Dagupan City) receives her plaque after her team emerged as champion in the 5th Asean Quiz regional competition on Aug. 3 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

DAGUPAN CITY—Barely two months after classes opened this school year, a senior high school student here has been assured of getting the highest achievement award from her school when she graduates next year.

Franchesca Anne Inacay, 15, will receive the award after leading the Philippine team in its bid to retain the championship in the 5th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Quiz in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Aug. 3.

“It’s automatic. She gets the highest achievement award from the school on graduation day,” said Adelaida Carvajal, principal of the St. Albert the Great School (SAGS) here.

Inacay led the team composed of Krystianne Paul de Pedro of Koronadal National Comprehensive High School (South Cotabato) and Maria Angela Krizelle Rubin of San Joaquin National High School (Western Samar) during the competition, which was participated in by students from the 10 Asean member-countries.

Inacay got the most-coveted slot after topping the Philippine competition held on Jan. 25 in Quezon City. De Pedro and Rubin won second and third places, respectively.

“We were so pressured before the contest began because we could feel everybody’s high expectations and because the Philippines was the champion the last time the contest was held,” said Inacay.

The Philippines had dominated the Asean Quiz competitions, winning three of the four previous contests held in different Asean countries.

In 2002, when the competition was launched, the Philippines won first and second places in the individual delegate category. In 2004, the Philippines topped the competition, while in 2006, it won second place. The Philippines won the first place again in 2009.

“In fact, the first Asean Quiz champion was our student here, Ritchell Catambay,” Carvajal said.

Inacay said to ease the pressure and to keep them focused and calm, she and her teammates and coaches prayed.

After the first round of the competition, Inacay’s team got a perfect score of 20 points. In the second round, the team got 19 of 20 points while in the third round, the team earned 32 points.

“I felt uneasy [in the third round] because we already had four mistakes and that was equivalent to eight points,” Inacay said. “So, I kept telling my teammates that we should answer the next questions correctly.”

As soon as the last question was read and her team answered it correctly, she knew that they had won. “We just smiled,” Inacay said.

As champion, Inacay’s team received a trophy and $1,200. On the second day, Inacay, who was grouped with students from Brunei and Cambodia, won second place in the friendly competition. Her group won $750.

Carvajal said she was confident that Inacay and her team would win in the competition because she knew that they were ready and well-prepared.

“They had good coaches and we felt that the other participants had a high regard for Filipinos,” Carvajal said.

Vic Agbayani, SAGS assistant principal and Inacay’s coach, said he had trained Inacay as early as last year. “We really devoted months to prepare her for the competition. I was just fortunate that Franchesca cooperated and her parents and the whole SAGS community supported her,” he said.

Inacay said it was an intense review for her, especially last summer, when she had to prepare for the Cambodia competition. It also meant sacrificing her other extracurricular activities to focus on the Asean Quiz. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon