The challenge of coming up with Final Predictions for Bb. Pilipinas every year is something I personally get nervous about. It is not the easiest to finalize, but at the same time, the most exciting to assess. Add to that the task of coming up with a theme for the same, and the whole thing becomes delightfully pressure-laden.

So for this year, I would like to come up with some sort of a mystery-thriller.

I make no secret of being an avid movie watcher and book reader. In fact, I always fall for Agatha Christie whodunits mixed with a slice of Scandinavian suspense noir and Japanese macabre. But that’s describing the whole exercise in a very complex manner. Let me put it in simpler terms. This year’s hotly-contested competition is something I would interestingly call “The Mystery of the 5th Girl”.

The Constant Quartet

The Constant Quartet (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova for Bb. Pilipinas)

Among the forty (40) Official Candidates of Bb. Pilipinas 2014, there are four (4) ladies who have consistently – and quite deservingly – occupied the top tier of favorites for the win. They are (in order of pin numbers) 8 Pia Wurtzbach, 13 Kris Tiffany Janson, 22 Mary Anne Bianca Guidotti and 35 Yvethe Marie Santiago. I would collectively call them “The Constant Quartet” because in almost every list of predictions I have read, their names are always the first ones to be listed regardless of the billing. In essence, there is no longer a mystery to be solved here.

Based from last year’s results, five (5) winners were announced – four (4) titleholders and one (1) 1st runner-up. But with the addition of the Miss Intercontinental franchise to the BPCI collection, the first question that comes to mind is this – who will be the 5th girl in the magic circle? Is she going to be the automatic Bb. Pilipinas-intercontinental? Or is she the ultimate spoiler who will pull the rug from right under one of the first four and secure a more prestigious crown for herself?

The Probable Suspects

These ladies are 13th-16th on my list (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova for Bb. Pilipinas)

Let’s start with the first line of suspects, or in this case, the contenders who made it to my Top 16 and are now occupying the 13th-16th spots.

5 Hannah Mariz dela Guerra – the sweet techie whose cool-as-a-cucumber disposition is enough to take over the most jaded of pageant watchers.

6 Anabel Christine Tia – the charming artist who can (literally and figuratively) draw a picture of herself in the most creative way and make a convert of a non-believer with her quick smile and friendly spirit.

11 Laura Victoria Lehmann – the upstart of a brainy pageant vixen whose sexy abs and tempting looks could be both arresting and intoxicating to the spectator – gay or straight.

31 Angelique Celine de Leon – the once-tomboyish-dude-turned-beautiful-swan has styling and projection that are well-calculated to approximate the template of what a true Binibini should be.

Is there anyone among the four aforementioned eye candies who comes close to being the 5th girl we are looking for? Nobody yet, in my opinion. My gut is telling me to look for other potential individuals with stronger motives to be the one.

The More Likely of Suspects

This quartet of Binibinis are currently ranked 9th-12th on my list (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova for Bb. Pilipinas)

Here now is the second list of suspects. They are the OCs who are currently occupying the 9th-12th positions in my short-list.

27 Hannah Ruth Sison – the KF girl who was my choice for Bb. Pilipinas Tourism last year has slipped in the rankings owing the strong field for 2014. Sadly, she never even made the first cut during the 2013 finals. Now if she eventually makes it to the semis next week, what is the probability of moving higher than that happening? Well, methinks it will all depend on how strongly she has gotten into BPCI’s good graces this time around.

4 Parul Shah – the Fil-Indian stunner who made it to last year’s semifinals, but fell short during the Q&A. She could be back with a vengeance, armed with an iron-clad presence of mind this time around.

7 Aiza Faeldonia – the enigmatic femme fatale from Sultan Kudarat – deceivingly mystifying based on photos and videos, but unquestionably down-to-earth and kind-hearted in real life.

17 Diana Arevalo – the third-time joiner who could be in for either a relatively more rewarding attempt this year or a stint just as forgettable as the first two editions she took part in.

Do I see the 5th girl in the second line-up? Could be for one of them, particularly Parul or Diana. But the odds continue to stack against their favor given the over-all quality of contenders. So what say you? Let’s take a look at one final group and see if the most logical or most convincing woman to fill the one remaining slot is among them.

The Strong Suspects

These ladies are sharing 5th-8th places on my list, but not in the order shown above (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova for Bb. Pilipinas

The following lovelies, in random order, are ranked 5th-8th in my books.

9 Joy Antonette Diaz – and I am not even linking Gloria’s connections as to how high I am ranking her. This lady could be Team JDV’s best performer and the one who is likely to be pegged as the token qualifier from the beauty camp. But mind you, she is no mere token of a semifinalist. She can very easily reach the Top 5 and become the 5th girl after the Q&A is over and done with.

15 Kimverlyn Suiza – now she is my original 5th girl without the mystery theme surrounding this post. But we all know that there are other indefinable factors to consider – one of which is the obvious. There are already three (3) entries from Aces & Queens in my Top 4 and adding another could prove too much of a favor for the group. In a perfect world, however, this physical reincarnation of a Castilian royalty should be up there without a doubt.

1 Julian Aurine Flores – the professional model with near-perfect body proportions, enviable catwalk skills and a heart of gold to match. She could be a likely target of raised eyebrows from those who are less superior on the ramp. When the dust settles, though, this easy-to-fall-for Binibini is definitely crown-worthy.

25 Mary Jean Lastimosa – will she be rewarded or ignored? At the age of 26, this Cotabato rep can only be considered for the highest honor as she is already over the age limit for the other titles based on the dictates of their respective international pageant organizers. Does it make sense to install her as 1st Runner-Up since this is still an improvement from her best placement of 2nd Runner-Up back in 2011? Or is it finally game over for the smoldering hot and sexy babe who only wants to bring the best of the Filipina beauty in the global pageant stage?

Do we have a solved case?

Using the process of elimination, it hurts to remove Mary Jean Lastimosa first. But that is how I see the cookie crumbling in the end. Unlike love, age matters in Bb. Pilipinas. And I can see her matching the 2nd Runner-Up posting she got back in 2012.

I will need to pull out Kimverlyn Suiza as well because – in the interest of fair distribution – pushing for four (4) A&Q girls in the Top 5 could already be a relative excess. Nevertheless, my feeling is that she will be declared 1st Runner-Up. And this is not such a bad place to be considering the strong batch she is part of.

So who are we left with? Joy Antonette Diaz and Julian Aurine Flores.

Two beautiful girls stand before me. But one of them has to go and one will remain. Will the lucky one be Binibini 9 or Binibini 1? Will it be the lady being heralded as the niece of Miss Universe 1969 or the very promising young lady who could be another potential international winner once sent abroad?

Who could the 5th girl be?

I will go for Binibini 1 as the 5th girl. C’mon down, Julian Aurine Flores!

This quintet of beauties will take the five (5) crowns on March 30, in my opinion. (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova for Bb. Pilipinas)

So which combo will be declared in the end?

In My Mind

I have finally solved the mystery behind who the 5th girl could be, let us go to the possible results on Sunday night.

Let us start with the first combo – the honor roll if we are to go by how I think Madame Stella Marquez de Araneta would probably like things to pan out.

If Madame Stella had her way, this is how the Top 5 would most likely appear in ranking. (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova for Bb. Pilipinas)

In My Heart

And then, here is my personal take on the five ladies. My heart is saying something else. So this is how I would prefer to see the placements reflected.

Using my heart, this is the way I see the Top 5 being title-assigned. (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova for Bb. Pilipinas)