Ellore, Imee and Leona: underdogs or just waiting for their time to shine? (Photo credit: OPMB Worldwide)

If we look at pinned numbers alone, it’s easy to tell that #22 Ellore Punzalan and #23 Leona Santicruz are two of the taller contenders in this year’s batch. However, being part of the middle group (which includes the likes of #26 Anna Buquid, #24 Cassy Naidas and #25 Merry Joyce Respicio) is not the easiest because the tendency is to be always towered upon even if one’s height is already playing in the 5’8″-5’9″ range. And while I want to give this duo a fair shot at hitting paydirt, the top favorites have began scoring points that make it even harder to surpass their leads. Still, we are looking at a good one month grace period for all ladies, and they had better start pulling out all the stops to at least leave a dent in the pre-final selection process.

And as for Imee Schweighart, I say that there has never been a more difficult year to pull one’s showbiz weight than now. There’s Mariel. There’s Pia. There’s Rhea. There’s Cindy. And then there’s Imee. I can’t say if she is giving her darndest best in the contest, but with what she has been displaying so far, chances of getting outshadowed are pretty high. There is a defined level of cuteness in her face, but she seems to be stuck in that comfort zone. It could be her gameplan. It could be her setback as well.

So where do we go from here, ladies? Back to square one for reassessment or onwards to the higher tier where the challenge is anything but a walk in the park?