photo courtesy of Mr. Wilmer Marquez.

By JERRY E. ESPLANADA

SINGAPORE - With a 216-medal haul, including 31 golds, the Philippines beat Asian mathematics powerhouses China and Taiwan to emerge as overall champion in the just-ended 2015 Singapore International Math Competition (SIMC) here in the so-called "Lion City."

The young Filipino numbers aces, who came from both public and private primary and secondary schools nationwide, also tallied 60 silver and 125 bronze medals in the 12-nation contest, as well as 83 merit certificates.

The Philippine team members are wards of the non-government Mathematics Trainers Guild Philippines (MTG), which promotes excellence in math education.

China bagged 27 gold medals while Taiwan took home 19 golds to place second and third, respectively. Thailand was third with 12 golds, followed by Malaysia and Myanmar with seven golds apiece; host Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Iran with six golds each; and South Korea and Indonesia, both with four gold medals.

The Philippines' golds came courtesy of the following students: John Florence Dizon, Calamba Elementary School; Stefan Marcus Ong, Alvan Walter Dy and Hans Leighton Liu, all from St. Jude Catholic School; Christopher James Yap, St. John's Institute; Rovi Gabriel de la Cruz, Pasig Catholic School; Jeffrey John Jabanes, Pangasinan Universal Institute; Jeremie Keon Torralba, Ateneo de Manila Grade School; James Martin Young, SPED; Matthew Eugene Chua, British School-Manila; Rapahel Dylan Dalida, St. Mary's Academy; Rickson Caleb Tan and Eion Nikolas Chua, both from MGC New Life Christian Academy; Sean Matthew Tan, Jubilee Christian Academy;

Mariana Ysabella Montanez, Karl Raymond Roque, Arthur Reiner de Belen, Dominic Yap, Elijamin Wolfgang Claveria, all from Philippine Science High School; Andrei Philip David, Tanauan National High School; Giwon Kim, Caritas Don Bosco School; Jethro Asahel Roxas, Ann Arbor Montessori; Marianne Casugbo, Hua Siong College of Iloilo; Daryll Carlsten Ko, St. Stephen's High School; Vince Edward Lacson, Gen. Pio del Pilar Elementary School; Oniluv Troy Tabujara, Falcon School; Andres Rico Gonzales III, Colegio de San Juan de Letran; Dan Alden Baterisna, Colegio San Agustin-Makati; Fedrick Lance Lim, Zamboanga Chong Hua High School; Jonathan Conrad Yu, Philippine Christian Gospel School; and Carlos Benedict Echevarria, De La Salle Santiago Zobel School. 

The silver medals were won by Lance Adrian Ko from St. Stephen's High School; Jeremy Brian Branzuela, St. Jude Catholic School; William Joshua King, Bethany Christian School; Jonas Rehein Esguerra, Philippine Pasay Chung Hua Academy; Blue Andrei  James Elman, Makati Science High School;  and Cris Magdalene dela Cruz, Bolinao Integrated School, among others.

The bronze medalists included Jasper Jay Prestoza, Rizal Elementary Schoo; Seth Gabriel Ricafort, Philippine Science High School; Rodolfo Misa Jr., Cebu Eastern School; Myles Denzel dela Torre, Bethany Christian School, Francesca Stephanie Tumaneng, St. Theresa's College; Mikaela Jaymee Balatbat and Cyrus Larisma, St. Mary's College; and Sean Marcus So, Grace Christian College, among others."

"It's a mission accomplished," noted Dr. Simon Chua, MTG president, who cited the Filipino math wizards for "making not only their families and schools proud but also the country." 

The other leaders of the delegation included Dr. Eduardo de la Cruz, Rechilda Villame and Robert Degolacion. They were joined by several MTG personnel.

The results of the annual contest, which was held on August 1, were announced on Sunday night at the D'Marquee complex in Downtown East.