By MARK REY MONTEJO
Top speed cuber Brenton Angelo Lo Wong and Juan Miguel Magallanes put up impressive performances to top their respective events in the Malaysia National Speed Cubing Championship, presented by the Asian Mind Sports Association (AMSA) at Sunway Velocity in Kuala Lumpur recently.
Wong, a 20-year-old business marketing student at Ateneo who made heads turn in maiden Philippine National Speed Cubing Open, took the spotlight in the main event after ruling the 3×3 category with a time of 5.634 seconds.
“I’m very thankful for God’s guidance and for the support of my parents and sponsors. It was a tough competition, with more than 100 players from around the region,” said Wong, who competes under MnM Cube Shop.
“After this campaign with Uno (Magallanes), I hope we continue to inspire young Filipino athletes. Under the leadership of the newly formed National League of Mind Sports in the Philippines, I firmly believe we can produce many more talents competing abroad,” Wong added.
Meanwhile, 12-year-old Magallanes lived up to his nickname by conquering the 2×2 event after timing in 1.06 seconds and an average of 1.47 seconds.
“When I started cubing almost three years ago, I was just happy getting sub-20 in 3×3 and sub-5 in 2×2,” said Magallanes.
“Looking back, I think one of the biggest lessons cubing has taught me is that you don’t always realize how far you’ve come until you stop and look back at where you started. What once felt impossible can slowly become reality when you keep practicing, keep learning and most importantly, keep showing up,” he added.
Aside from his 2×2 title, Magallanes finished runner-up in the 3×3 event, posting a 4.48-second single and a 6.45-second average, as well as in the 3×3 One-Handed event.
Their triumphs are expected to serve them in good stead as they chase for glory in the inaugural Asian Speed Cubing Championships, an event that offers $100,000 prize purse, and is being organized under the auspices of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) — set in April next year.
