A world record, a heavy turnout and an enthusiastic response from a live audience point toward a speed cubing boost in the country.

“We are pleased as we saw everyone’s enthusiasm in the cube,” said Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee which staged the first Philippine National Speed Cubing Open at the Tagaytay City Combat Center last Wednesday and Thursday.

As a result, Tolentino said that he will push for the inclusion of speed cubing as a demonstration sport in the inaugural Southeast Asian Games Youth Plus that the country is hosting from 2 to 14 December next year.

Aside from that, Tolentino said that the next step after the nationals is the country’s hosting of the Asian championships.

“We have unlocked a new era in speed cubing — from a long time ago when as kids, we got enamored with the Rubik’s Cube,” said Tolentino, who heads the National League of Mind Sports and is also the vice president of the Asian Mind Sports Association.

Most notable at the nationals was Crimson Arradaza, a 15-year-old from Baguio City who set a new world record in 3x3x3 one-handed speed cubing event and the emergence of similarly world champion potentials, 19-year-old Brenton Wong (regular cube) and Aragon Martin Gonzales (Pyraminx).

Arradaza, an incoming ninth grader at the Balay Sofia Inc. in Baguio City, broke the previous world mark of 5.66 seconds set by Switzerland’s Dhruva Sai Meruva in October 2024 at Swiss Nationals 2024 in Basel.

A total of 72 speed cubers — backed by their families, friends, followers and fans — participated in the event that the POC staged in partnership with the AMSA and sponsored by Stellar Cube.

“I’m happy Filipinos have become competitive in this mind sport, which doesn’t require height, but tactics, speed and skills,” Tolentino said.

“We’re satisfied in promoting the sport because there are many Filipinos who play the cube.”