RP team bags awards in int’l robot tilt

MANILA, Philippines—With few resources, guts and vision, the Philippine Science High School team sent to the regional FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) in Hawaii bagged two awards, besting over two dozen teams.

The Filipino team also earned a slot in the world finals in Atlanta,Georgia, USA where they would be facing teams from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Turkey and Britain.

Team Lagablab (Filipino for “fiery”) and their robot entry, “Larry Labuyo,” first won the Highest Rookie Seed Award, then the Rookie All-Star Award.

The first award is given to first-time participating teams that get the highest seeds at the end of the qualifying rounds.

The Rookie All-Star Award, on the other hand, puts the Philippines on the top three regional finalists for the International FIRST Robotics Championships.

The FIRST Robotics website () also confirmed the Philippines’ achievements in the competition.

The other top winners are the Blue Alliance Teams (composed of Maui High School, McKinley High School, and Moanalua High School). They are followed by second placer Red Alliance Team (composed of Punahou School, Farrington High School, and Prospect High School).

Thirty-two other schools, mostly from Hawaii, participated in the event. Several awards were also given to other teams during the closing ceremonies last March 28, after two days of contests.

Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute Director Ester Ogena, who also heads the Philippine team, said in a statement that the Philippines’ triumph in the robotics contest showed the potential of Filipinos in the field of robotics.

“We have truly shown to the world that we can do it and we can make it big in international competitions, especially in robotics,” she said.

Team Lagablab is composed of at least 25 students from the PSHS. The team are led by Cat Angangco, Lance Co Ting Keh, JJ Paz, TJ Mora, Charlez Verdad and Anton Tanquintic.–Alexander Villafania, INQUIRER.net