UV rules CESAFI Sudoku Challenge

CEBU, Philippines - The University of the Visayas (UV) bucked off a slow start, then rode on a strong endgame finish to clinch the collegiate division championship of the 2014 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Sudoku Challenge held last March 7 at the Cebu Eastern College (CEC).

UV representatives Eden May R. Escarda and Bryan P. Villacer, both BSEd-Math students from the College of Education, together with their coach Aljun C. Pilonggo, outsmarted a bunch of equally-skillful entries from six other schools namely the University of Cebu (UC), University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R), Southwestern University (SWU), Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U), Cebu Doctors' University (CDU), and Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) for the top prize.

The Visayanians actually went through a tough grind before grabbing the coveted crown that earned them the right to represent Cebu in the regional finals.

The competition was composed of three rounds with advancing levels of difficulty. Each school has two contestants: one plays in round one, the other in round two. The coach then gets to choose which one of his two players should play in round three.

UC led after the first round with 25 points. Southwestern U took over in round two with 45 points, but UV locked down the game with its strong 75-point finish in round three.

Overall, UV came up with the highest output of 90 points to take home the gold medals. USJ-R copped the second place honors with 75 points, while UC wound up third with 50 points.

“We thank God for this unexpected victory because it's only the first time that UV participated in the Sudoku Challenge yet we emerged as champions right away. We also would title to thank Dr. Nerissa S. Lopez, Dean of the College of Education, for her full support and of course to Sir Dodong Gullas. Sudoku needs critical thinking skills so I'm really proud that my team won,” said Pilonggo.

Sudoku is a logic-based number placement puzzle. The word Sudoku is short for 'Su-jiwa dokushin ni kagiru' which means "the numbers must be single". It gained worldwide popularity after it was published in Japan in 1986 and given the name Sudoku by Nikoli. (PR) (FREEMAN)