Youth & Campus

Palawan State University Petroleum Engineering Students advances to Petrobowl World Championship 2021 after bagging 3rd Place in regional qualifiers

By Al Rhakeem Guludah

July 13, 2021

The team of Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering students from Palawan State University finished third place in the recently culminated Asia-Pacific Petrobowl Regional Qualifiers 2021, advancing them to the Petrobowl World Championship 2021.

The Asia-Pacific Petrobowl Regional Qualifiers 2021 took place on July 10 – 11, 2021, with thirty-two (32) participating universities from all around the Asia-Pacific region fighting for the Top 5 spots to advance them to the World Championship.

The Palawan State University team comprise of Joshua Manginsay Guzman, Gwen Arianne Santillan Recoco, Mary Antonette Macariola, Prince Panes, and Faye Molina, while Engr. Jared Ignacio, the Petroleum Engineering Department acted as their coach.

The Team Palawan State University triumphed over China University of Petroleum from East China during the qualifiers’ first elimination round with a score of 90-25, entering them to the top 16.

And it did not take long for the PalSU team to enter them to the top 8 after they won against UPN “Veteran” Yogyakarta of Indonesia with a score of 95-55.

As for the quarterfinals round, the match for the top 4 spot was between the two Philippine teams, the Palawan State University team went against the Batangas State University team, in which the PalSU team was triumphant with a score of 85-45 and was announced as one of the Top 4 teams advancing in for the Petrobowl World Championship 2021.

The best 4 universities competed the next day, July 11

The PalSU team was paired against Bandung Institute of Technology of Indonesia in the semi-final round, but Team Bandung took the lead with 145 over the negative (-) 25 of Team PalSU

In the last game, Team PalSU bounced back when they brawled for the Top 3 title against the Indian Institute of Technology Dhanbad with 75-35.

In the end, Bandung Institute of Technology of Indonesia bagged 1st place, followed by the University of Indonesia for 2nd place, Palawan State University 3rd place, and Indian Institute of Technology Dhanbad 4th place. The Top 5 was completed by Pertamina University (Indonesia) after winning against Batangas State University and Universiti Teknologi Petronas for the Top 5 position.

“Our Asia Pacific Petrobowl journey was fueled up by our little secrets- sleepless nights of reading, trusting each other, and having faith in our own capabilities. Also, we wouldn’t be able to achieve this without those people who genuinely believed in us- our families, professors, friends, batchmates, and of course to Sir Jared Ignacio our coach. Our hearts know that to be given this kind of opportunity does not come very often, and it’s really an honor to represent Palawan State University internationally” the team captain said during the interview.

This is the second time a team from the Palawan State University had qualified for the Petrobowl World Championship. However, the Team PalSU in 2019 was not able to compete in the Petrobowl World Championship, which was conducted in Canada, due to some constraints. It is the goal of the 2021 Team PalSU to be the first-ever to set its feet in the anticipated Petrobowl World Championship.

The “Petrobowl” is an annual international quiz competition in which schools from around the world offering a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering program contend against each other by answering technical and industry-related questions.