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SINGAPORE—As
soon as Sarah Jane Cua, 14, arrived in Singapore
Thursday afternoon to compete in BRAND’S First
Asia-Pacific Sudoku Challenge, she badgered her mother,
Maria Helen Cua, to go out shopping —for books.
The
soft-spoken, sophomore high schooler from Dagupan City
just bought two Sudoku puzzle books—adding to a
collection described as “dozens and dozens”—and went
back to the hotel, very pleased.
The next
36 hours, in between quick meals, happy banter with the
five other youngsters in the Philippine Team, and MRT
rides, she immersed herself in endless puzzles, solving
endless Sudoku combinations. Sometimes she would squat
on the floor, or bury her face in the books at an MRT
ride, or plop her book on any ledge or surface where she
could solve any number of puzzles possible. “She never
looked at it as work; she enjoyed herself all the time,”
recalls Helen, who, on Saturday evening, saw all her
daughter’s efforts pay off as the tiny Pinay, one of the
youngest in a field of 50 players from seven
countries—combining both children and professionals—was
adjudged the best Sudoku solver for the region.
Besides
her own effort, Sarah effusively thanked her mentors at
the Mathematics Trainers Guild (MTG), led by Dr. Simon
L. Chua, for all the years she had been under their
tutelage. MTG-Phils. was represented in Singapore by
board member Dr. Isidro Aguilar, also the mathematics
education supervisor at Taguig City.
MTG
Phils. is the partner of BusinessMirror in holding the
Philippines ’ national sudoku challenge that picks the
country’s official contestants for the World Puzzle
Federation’s World Sudoku Challenge every year.
“I think
I won because the other girls made a mistake,” said the
self-effacing Sarah, referring to the Malaysian and
Singaporean contestants with whom she had pitted skills
in the fifth and final leg, dubbed “Championship
Decider,” of the grueling challenge held at Singapore’s
largest mall, Vivo City.
Actually, not only did Sarah not make as many mistakes
as her rivals did, she also finished remarkably earlier,
in a contest that gives bonus points to the fastest and
most accurate contestants. She had raised her hand to
signal she had completed the two toughest puzzles of the
day (one “expert” and one “difficult” puzzle) just after
over 30 minutes, in a segment that gave time allowance
for 50 minutes.
Aguilar
thinks it was Sarah’s discipline and organized “attack”
on the Sudoku, honed by constant practice, that saved
the day for her, and the country—reversing a perilously
near-defeat setback in the fourth or “Knock Out” round,
where 15 semifinalists were whittled down to the Final
5. In the Knock Out, Sarah, who placed first overall in
the first three rounds or Playoffs, got distracted and
became tense after Filipino mallgoers who heard
“Philippines” being announced sought her out and crowded
within a meter of the contest area to see the girl from
Pangasinan Universal Institute in action.
After
the Playoffs, Sarah and an even younger contestant, St.
Stephen’s School’s Dielle Tio, aged 11, had placed first
and sixth, respectively, in the Semifinals 15, but Sarah
slid to the last berth on the finalists’ list, before
overcoming her jitters. Her rivals in the last round
were Carissa Chang and Fong Wei Yi of Malaysia, Sharon
Tan of Singapore and India’s Sumibotra.
Another
Filipino contestant, Alvin Ian Chan of St. Paul’s
College-Ilocos Sur, also gave the BusinessMirror a
simple reply on what’s the Sudoku secret to success:
“experience and practice.”
Also in
the six-person Philippine team was Matthew Cris Chan,
15, also of St. Stephen’s, who placed an impressive
fourth in last sumer’s BRAND’S Thailand Challenge.
Matthew was second in the Wizard category of the
BusinessMirror-MTG National Sudoku last January.
Completing the Manila team were Jacqueline Joyce Oh, 14,
of GCF International School in Ortigas, who had placed
second in BM-MTG’s grandmaster category; and Mariel
Alexis Dee, grandmaster and top winner in the BM-MTG
challenge.
For her
feat, Sarah took home a cash prize of S$10,000; a
crystal trophy and a BRAND’S hamper, with various
products of the more than 170-year-old Essence of
Chicken that has kept millions healthy since it was
founded in the UK.
Sarah
would need all those Essences and vitamins soon: back in
Manila Sunday, she flies again to Singapore the next
weekend, this time as part of MTG Phils.’ pick of
contestants for the prestigious International
Mathematics Competition. Meantime, she’s back to
school—and more practice. |
