TŌKYŌ-TO, JAPAN — Pride and victory could be felt in the air of the hallways of St. Mary’s International School (SMIS), as the school’s Brain Bowl Team’s High School Division heads home with the title of champion of the KPASS Brain Bowl for the third consecutive year, by a margin of over 200 points, or 815 points in total. They won 7 games in total, and Aahan was awarded the All-Star Award, answering an astonishing 19 questions correctly.
Mastering The Game
The vetting process for Brain Bowl was a highly selective one. Out of the original 19 participants, only 10 made the final cut, excluding the two Brain Bowl Team captains, Yuchan (’26) and Aahan (’27), and the coach, Mr. Gardonio. When the elite team departed for Camp Zama on the 2nd of October, the atmosphere was a bit anxious, with most members doing one final mock competition on Protobowl.com on the bus. “I was confident we would win,” wrote Aahan in an online interview, “but considering we lost our two best players last year, Kano and Jimin, I thought the competition would be much closer in terms of results.” However, when the actual competition commenced at the Camp Zama Community Club, the team immedieately got in shape, winning all but 1 game against ASIJ, whose unexpected victory had the team captains and members on the edge. The temporary scare was soon gone, however, as the Kinnick and Sacred Heart teams won their next 2 games against ASIJ. In the end, the St. Mary’s team still came out on top with the most games and points won. Other than the victory, the other highlight of the trip for team members was eating at Popeye’s, which can only be found in Japan at US military bases.
What the Future Holds
With the Brain Bowl Team securing their fourth consecutive championship, high expectations are placed on next year’s team. There will be additional challenges that will be faced and need to be addressed. “Next year, we will be losing 5 seniors: Captain Yuchan Kim, Kai Smith, Allen Watanabe, Hugo Angin, and Hector Koo,” wrote Aahan on the same online interview, “all of whom scored over 70 points in this year’s competition.” However, he remains confident in St. Mary’s chances at next year’s competition, as he plans to start a recruitment drive that will hopefully attract new applicants by the end of this school year. Hopes remain high that the next generation will live up to the Titans’ legendary legacy in Brain Bowl and other similar competitions.
