Predicting the Wins of Catriona Gray & John Raspado

Still on a high after getting it right for the Mister Universal Ambassador last September 30, I am amazed that I get another 1-2 finish for Catriona gray’s victory as Miss World Philippines and John Raspado for Mister Gay World Philippines. Getting right for their respective runners up, Arienne Calingo & Bench Ortiz, becomes an added bonus…

I had four favorites for the MWP title with 2 possible spoilers; four of the girls in that list made it into the top 5 of the Miss World Philippines coronation night. In one of my previous blog posts, I have mentioned that Arienne Louise Calingo could score a surprise win so it was not a shock seeing her making 1st princess to Catriona. John Raspado was the runaway winner for me from the beginning with Bench Ortiz close by. Predicting that they would be the top two winners for the MGWPh was based on pure gut feel. That is because we usually have different winners, diverse winners for that matter, for Mister Gay World Philippines. John Jeffrey Carlos, who I predicted to be the 3rd placer, was among the top 5.

Overall, I am quite happy and satisfied with the results. I just hope that next time their finals night wouldn’t collide as the pageant media would have a hard time going to both…

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Exclusive Interview with Mister Universal Ambassador, Aleksa Gavrilovic

24 year old Aleksa Gavrilovic is a Bachelor of Law graduate and was one of the darkhorses that galloped towards a well-deserved victory in the competition. The 6’1 ¼” stunner is from the Novisad City in Serbia whose features resembles that of 90’s ultimate hunk & Calvin Klein poster boy, Antonio Sabato Jr. Yes, he was our top pick during the recently concluded Mister Universal Ambassador held in Surabaya… and nobody placed him as a possible winner except Sash Factor.  

While most pageant observers did not put him on the ‘possible winner’ list, Aleksa was already one of the guys that I already had in my mind to observe after my last MUA Leaderboard. After gathering the votes of the Sash Factor correspondents on the top names for the Sashpick list, it was photographer Andy Cayna and I that decided to put Serbia on #1 followed by the ever-charming Andrea Biondo of the Philippines and the mega-favorite Alejandro Martinez of the Dominican Republic. 

It was surprising to hear that he saw our Sashpick predictions and got some morale boost from it. And he was gracious that despite the madness during the busy finals, he was able to do a quick interview with us. Here is our video interview with the new Mister Universal Ambassador…

 

Jaya San Jose’s ‘Shoot for a Cause’

Mutya ng Pilipinas Tourism International 2016 Jaya San Jose recently had a photoshoot titled ‘Shoot for a Cause’. The gorgeous queen wore creations from designer Celso Collado Dahil. Check out several lovely shots of the 5’8″ stunner…

Andrea Biondo is 2nd Runner Up in Mister Universal Ambassador

I know that by now everyone is confused on the title that Gentlemen of the Philippines – Universal Ambassador, Andrea Biondo, won during the finals of the 2016 MUA in Surabaya, Indonesia. So I would like to clarify that Andrea is indeed the Mister Universal Ambassador 2nd runner up.

But before we continue, let me clarify this first and foremost: This was in no way an error on announcement. Host Willan Pagayon actually was given a correction by the org when he was announcing the 2nd runner up/ 4th runner up title. With a LIVE broadcast on ONTV, there are unintentional errors that might have been overlooked and it would not be anyone’s fault.
Now on to the main topic… Andrea and Mister Dominican Republic were the only two other contestants that received a trophy aside from winner Aleksa Gavrilovic of Serbia. I would not have asserted to Andrea’s and Alejandro’s placement if not for the close up of the trophies that were given to them. If we are to inspect the trophy of Andrea given during the finals night, it clearly says that he is 2nd runner up.

I hope that this would clarify things for everyone and we wish that we can all give our support to the winners of this year’s Mister Universal Ambassador…

*Addenda: Andrea is also given a special international title, Mister SE(SouthEast) Asia International, which is very much like the titles given to Mister Asia International Truong Ngoc Tinh of Vietnam and Mister Globe International Jesus Becerra Cerna. In total, 4 international titles were given out that evening together with the Mister Universal Ambassador title.

 

My Miss World Philippines 2016 Favorites

While a number of pageant fans have already presumed that it would be a walk in the park for Catriona Gray to win the Miss World Philippines title, there are three other reasons that she should still bring the best come finals: Arienne Louise Calingo, Sandra Lemonon and Vinie Camille DyQuiangco. I have already mentioned before that they are the four ladies that I feel would battle it out for the MWP title and I am more convinced of that now more than ever.

And what made me think that they are the best in this year’s batch? It’s not just their physical beauty or their credentials and meaty resumes, it is also how they answered a simple question: What is your life ambition?
Arienne Calingo: Since I was 14 or 15 years old, I have dreamt of working for the United Nations. I would like to be an international human rights lawyer for the UN. In the distant future, I aim to serve our country as the Executive Director of the Commission on Higher Education.
Catriona Gray: To strive to not only better myself but to also positively impact others, while empowering others to do the same.
Sandra Lemonon: To be happy & help whoever I can, even in a small way. I really appreciate the little things in life.
Vinie Camille DyQuiangco: To have my own foundation catering children. Also to have my own family & still be giving to the needy.

Simple answers you might think but when you are given only 2 sentences to verbalize your life’s ambition, these 4 gals gave meaningful replies. Brevity after all is the soul of wit.
So I am predicting that the winners circle might comprise of these four with either Marah Munoz or Lauren Asuncion completing the top 5. 

SOURCE:
http://www.missworldphilippines.com/miss-world-philippines-2016/

My Favorites for Mister Gay World Philippines 2016

It’s not that difficult for me to select my favorites to win the Mister Gay World Philippines title. If it were up to me, I’d place Bench Ortiz, John Raspado and John Jeffrey Carlos as the most eligible to win the title.

Don’t get me wrong, this year’s bumper crop of candidates is a vast improvement from its predecessors, it is just that the three aforementioned candidates are the ones I see as the ones that have the potential to bring home the international title. The trio could easily be sent to the Mister Gay World pageant and we can be assured that either of them could do the country proud.

Personally, I would rank them up into the following:
Mister Gay World Philippines – John Raspado
1st Runner up – Bench Ortiz
2nd Runner up – John Jeffrey Carlos
If anyone of them will win come finals, I am 99% sure that the Mister Gay World title is not far behind.

Vinie Camille DyQuiangco: Passion for Education

Being a teacher is one of the world’s most noble professions… it is no wonder why the admiration for this Miss World Philippines hopeful is very high.

Vinie Camille Dyquiangco has spent almost 2 years as a volunteer educator in Cagayan de Oro as a missionary. She was assigned in about 5 different rural areas in Mindanao during the duration of her stay. She discovered her advocacy through her missionary work which is on education which focuses on teaching young children in the community to read and write. This endeavor also inspired her to take a post graduate course on Development Communication in the University of the Philippines Open University to further her understanding on education in terms of scope and depth.

Her Beauty with a Purpose project is title “Ang Pagsulat at Pagbasa ay Pag-asa” and was launched at the  East Wood Central Plaza last August 24th.  Here is what she had to say more about her advocacy:
“Based in Mindanao for 18 months, I had the opportunity to share the Good News with several communities and render service, particularly teaching of basic reading and writing to children. It was during those times that I developed my advocacy for learning and literacy. In our current society where education now appears to be more of a privilege than a right, I believe literacy will open minds of children to seek education. Literacy, I think, is the first spark that would lead to changing children’s lives and eventually become empowered individuals.
When my missionary work ended early this year, I signed up as a volunteer for the Mabuhay Deseret Foundation, one of the largest surgical charity organizations in the Philippines. It provides life-changing medical treatment to the poor suffering from clubfoot, cleft lip/palate, cataracts, crossed eyes, burn contractures, and artificial legs for below the knee amputees.”

 

Mister Universal Ambassador 2016 Final SashPicks

This was a hotly contested Final SashPicks as we had a difficult time ranking the top three. While it may have been easy to narrow the top three best candidate to fill in the position to be vacated by reigning Christian Daniel Ortiz, the one who gets to be on top was a different debate.
Serbia’s Aleksa Gavrilovic has all the qualities of a winner but lacks the fire in his eyes to win and own the competition. Andrea Biondo of the Philippines is perfect in all aspects with fire and passion in his eyes but he does not have a commanding presence. The Dominican Republic’s bet Anlejandro Martinez on the other hand looks too perfect on paper which makes him look like his moves are calculated.

Mister Universal Ambassador – Serbia, Aleksa Gavrilovic
1st runner up – Philippines, Andrea Biondo
2nd runner up –Dominican Republic, Alejandro Martinez
4. Spain, Christian Perez Llorente
5. Brazil, Marcello Pilotti
6. Algeria
7. Romania
8. Puerto Rico
9. Malaysia
10. Sweden
11. Peru
12. Colombia
13. England
14. Lebanon
15. Netherlands

Possible Spoilers
16. Kyrgyzstan
17. Mexico
18. Macau
19. Australia
20. Vietnam

Miss World Tips for Miss World America, Audra Mari

In support to the lovely half-Filipina Audra Mari competing for Miss World later this year, here are some tips that I thought might be of help for her in the competition.

1. Height is might in Miss World – take full advantage of your height, in recent years, majority of the winners (in the exception of Megan Young) is above 5’7” in height. This means standing a couple of inches further to the front in group shots and standing at the center of the group.
2. Create a personal sense of style – have something unique in your wardrobe that clearly defines you and your personal taste. Since Audra is tall, she can wear almost anything but I suggest staying away from anything that stop below the knees, this style cuts the leg and makes anyone appear short. Go for very long or very short styles.
3. Take every opportunity to speak up – don’t be a wallflower, any opportunity to speak up during the forum/ debate, interviews, public appearances is a chance to create a mark in the competition. But do not be over-aggressive just have enough presence to be felt by the org.
4. Be consistent in your advocacy – your Beauty with a Purpose should reflect your advocacy. Be real in your interest as the BWAP is a major point earner.
5. Be active on social media – have your presence felt and always leave a mark in your Facebook page (since Facebook is where the pageant fans hang out). And do not forget t reply to messages from fans.

Audra being the host country delegate has heavy responsibilities ahead but she should still remain focused in her quest for the title. Can’t wait for the Miss World to be gin and see how she is gonna rock the contest in DC…

PhotoCollage of the Day: Sandra Lemonon’s Art

One of the interesting facts about Miss World Philippines hopeful Sandra Lemonon is that she is a fine arts graduate who has studied in France. This lady has the talent for illustration and painting and we here at Sashes&Scripts are lucky enough to be able to see some of her artworks. Sandra was gracious enough to share several of her works with us, which is the topic of this photo-collage of the day.