De La Salle Santiago Zobel (DLSZ) esteemed STEM and GEM members claim 2nd Runner-up in one of the most challenging National Physics and Math Quiz, BrainMEsh Inter-High Quiz Bee held last September 28, 2024 at Melchor Hall, University of the Philippines – Diliman, Quezon City.
The nation’s brightest young minds in Mathematics and Physics converged in an intense, multi-phase competition that challenged students’ mastery of complex engineering, mathematical, and physical concepts. This year, 48 teams from various public, private, and science high schools across the Philippines participated.
A Grueling Three-Phase Contest
The competition is organized in three phases—Preliminary Phase, Semifinals Phase, and Final Phase—tested both individual and team skills in solving high-level problems in Mathematics and Physics.
The Preliminary Phase, consisting of 40 challenging questions, is answered individually by the team members. The team’s score was averaged from each member’s performance determining the highest scoring teams. After this intense hour-and-a-half round, only 10 of the 48 teams qualified for the Semifinals Phase. The team of Anton Mikhail Gonzales (DLSZ 2025), Julia Bernadette Cruz (DLSZ 2026), and Jacob Bernas (DLSZ 2026) were among those who advanced, showcasing their strong individual talents in Math and Physics.
Once in the Semifinals, the contest is much more competitive as the teams undergo four rounds of questions categorized into Easy, Average, Difficult, and BrainMEsh, covering advanced Engineering concepts and applications of Physics and Mathematics. The team dynamics shifted, with contestants now working together as a team of three (3) to solve each question. After the rounds, only five teams advanced to the Finals Phase. The top five (5) groups advancing to the Finals Phase were two (2) teams from Philippine Science High School (Pisay) – Main Campus, one (1) team from DLSZ, one (1) team from Philippine Cultural College, and one (1) team from Saint Jude Catholic School. Among them, our DLSZ students- Anton, Julia, and Jacob secured a spot in the top 5.
The Finals: High Pressure, High Stakes
The Final Phase is a buzzer-type round and all scores are reset to zero. This phase is only composed of Difficult and BrainMEsh questions. Contestants chose topics from a variety of categories, ranging from engineering, math, and physics, and had to work as a team to answer the questions.
After a hard-fought final round, the team of Anton, Julia, and Jacob found themselves tied for the second-highest score with another team from Pisay. A tense clincher round followed, with the Pisay team getting the decisive correct answer. In the end, Pisayswept the top two spots, claiming champion and first runner-up, and DLSZ secured second runner-up.
The other participating team from DLSZ is composed of Joshua Daniel Ang (DLSZ 2025), Juan Sebastian Viernes (DLSZ 2026), and Julia Abu (DLSZ 2026). In this intense and challenging national competition, our students have exemplified their Animo spirit through their competence and commitment to excellence. This achievement would not be possible without the guidance of the GEM coaches, esteemed STEM coaches, and the support of the parents.
To God be the Glory! Animo La Salle!