Filipino high school students showed their might when they won 27 medals in the 10th Invitational
World Youth Mathematics Inter-cities Competition (IWYMIC) in Durban, South Africa, last July 5 to 10.

Filipino math wizards who bagged individual bronze medals were Geraldine Baniqued of St. Paul College-Pasig; John Russell Virata of Gideon Academy; Zheng Rong Wu of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School; Matthew Chris Chan of St. Stephen's High School; Vance Eldric Go of St. Jude Catholic School-Manila; and Elvis Jeremy Ayroso of Philippine Science High School-Manila.

“The training of these students paid off. We are truly proud of their latest achievement,” said Dr. Simon Chua, head of the Philippine delegation and president of the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild, which trained the students for the Durban contest. He said concentration during trainings is the key to win any math contest.

The contest, now on its 10th year, was participated in by 228 high school students from 19 countries including Canada, China, Australia, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the Philippines.

Four Filipino students who got individual merit certificates were Adrian Raphael Co of Xavier School, Ostin John Ong of Bacolod Trinity Christian School, Arielle Elise Chua of St. Jude Catholic School, and Paolo Manuel Iyulores of Ateneo de Manila High School.

In the team contest, the Philippine Team A composed of Geraldine Banigued, Arielle Elise Chua, Russell Virata, and Zheng Rong Wu was awarded first runner-up, while Philippine Team B whose members were Matthew Chris Chan, Adrian Raphael Co, Vance Eldric Go, and Ostin John Ong was second runner-up.

Philippine Team C composed of Elvis Jeremy Ayroso, Paolo Manuel Iyulores, Janssen Kotah of Philippine Cultural College and Hanz Vladimir Cabanes of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School received the Merit Award.

In addition, the three Philippine teams won bronze medals each in the group contest. Another Filipino math whiz, Sarah Jane Cua of the Pangasinan Universal Institute, won a bronze medal in the individual contest and second runner-up in the team contest as a borrowed member of the International Girls’ Team.

Cua was the Asia-Pacific champion in last year’s Brand’s Sudoku Contest in Singapore.

Besides Dr. Chua, the other leaders of the group were Dr. Eduardo de la Cruz, dean of the School of Education and Normal of Arellano University; Dr. Isidro Aguilar, supervisor of the Division of City Schools of Taguig and Pateros; and Sheryl Lejos from the Science Education Institute
of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).