AJHS BluBLOC wins 'Most Improved Team' award in 14th FIRST LEGO League PH tourney

Representing Ateneo de Manila Junior High School (AJHS), BluBLOC varsity was named “Most Improved Team” in the 14th FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League (FLL) Philippines competition held at Dr Yanga’s Colleges Inc (DYCI) in Bocaue, Bulacan on 8 February 2025. The members of BluBLOC’s gold medal-winning Main Team are Hanns Bumatay (10-Nelson), Nathan Ballatan (10-Pongracz), AJ Mendaros (10-Spinola), Marc Tiongson (7-Briant), Dylan Lim (8-Claver), Gavin Mallari (8-Canisius), Ethan Hizon (10-Pires), Daylight Ibay (7-Bobola), Sannie Pascua (8-Chabanel), and Matty Trinidad (7-Azevedo); from the Support Team are Ian Auto (8-Fenwick), Aidan Cabaya (8-Del Castillo), Aaron Cabrera (8-Del Castillo), Gab Feliciano (8-Delgado), Marcus Crisostomo (7-Alonso), Gab Asuncion (8-Canisius), and Seth Rocha (7-Andlauer). They were coached by Mr Jason Arias, Mr Joel Falgui, and Mr Lavi Subang.

The citation on the certificate states, “Awarded to the team that has shown the most significant improvement in their project, robot and overall performance compared to previous seasons”. 

Per the FLL website, the 14^th FLL was themed “Submerged,” and challenged participating teams to “use creative thinking and LEGO® technology to explore the layers of the ocean and bring their learnings and ideas to the surface as they ‘sea’ into the future.” 

The tournament had four components: Robot Game, Robot Design, Innovation Project, and Core Values. 

In Robot Game, the AJHS team more than doubled its point tally from 2024’s 50 points to 2025’s 105 points in 2 mins, 30 seconds. The Ateneans were also praised by the judges for aligning their robot attachments to Ateneo’s school’s values and even naming them “The Ascension,” “The Hail Mary,” and “The Ignatian Cross.” These were named as such by virtue of their appearance and their intended task on the field. 

For the Innovation Project, the BluBLOC built Attachable Submersible Hydrologic Analysis Research Kit – aka A.S.H.A.R.K. - which is a submersible fitted with onboard water quality sensors for pH, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS) and conductivity. Its sensors are operated by arduino, which transmit real-time data about the water quality metrics and are accessible anywhere via PC or phone. Its movements are fully controllable by a phone app and first person PoV is possible via a GoPro & virtual reality headset. The students presented their work in front of a panel of Filipino and Japanese engineers, who praised them for the quality of their paper writing and for the soundness and usefulness of the invention. 

The 14th FLL Philippines also marked the first time for Ateneo de Manila to field two teams in the event, one from the Junior High School and another from the Grade School. Composed of Ateneans from grades 5 & 6, the first ever AGS robotics varsity team was named "Best Rookie Team" at the competition.