The strong friendship started during Miss Universe 2014 held in Doral, Florida, U.S.A. when a large group of candidates forged a sisterhood that has stood the test of time even if we are just talking of an edition held more than three years ago. They’ve had reunions held in recent years, the last one being in Costa Rica around this time last year.
This year, and based on the latest IG post of Miss Universe Philippines 2014 MJ Lastimosa, thirty (30) of the ladies who participated in the Doral edition will be coming over to the country for their annual reunion around middle of next month. MJ, obviously, will be hosting them.
And with the fresh confirmation I received today from a good friend, Bohol Province will be one of the several pit stops in their vacation along with Cebu, Palawan and more. According to him, the visiting beauties will be accomodated at Alona Beach Resort, Amorita, Henann and Bellevue from August 19-21. The other details outside of Bohol are still unconfirmed, but the 3D/2N stay in Panglao alone is a guarantee of their arrival.
So expect ladies like Nia Sanchez of the U.S.A., Migbelis Castellanos of Venezuela and Kaci Fennell of Jamaica to be Philippine-bound soon!
If you’re watching live from the FIU Arena, on cable/free TV or via one of the various Live Streaming Links, let’s keep all the discussions under this newly-opened thread.
I also posted the USTREAM link on YouTube above.
Happy viewing, everyone! 😀
P.S. I have prepared some ‘fill in the blanks’ below in anticipation of the actual results.
Donald Trump (leftmost) talking to the judges, including Manny Pacquiao
Final dress rehearsals from the opening to swimsuit to evening gowns (Photo credit: Ron Garcia-Reyes)
The ladies onstage during the final dress rehearsals with Miss Philippines MJ Lastimosa (look for her) wearing the pink Leo Almodal gown. (Photo credit: Earl Veloso)
1. COLOMBIA – Paulina Vega
2. ITALY – Valentina Bonariva
3. INDIA – Noyonita Lodh
4. FRANCE – Camille Cerf
5. USA – Nia Sanchez
6. INDONESIA – Elvira Devinamira
7. VENEZUELA – Migbelis Castellanos
8. SPAIN – Desire Cordero Ferrer
9. PHILIPPINES – Mary Jean Lastimosa!!! 😀
10. ARGENTINA – Valentina Ferrer
11. JAMAICA – Kaci Fennell
12. UKRAINE – Diana Harkusha
13. BRAZIL – Melissa Gurgel
14. NETHERLANDS – Yasmin Verhejen
15. AUSTRALIA – Tegan Martin
FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T FIND A GOOD LIVE STREAMING LINK YET, TRY TELEMUNDO ONLINE.
MU2013 Gabriela Isler and a special coverage on the project of MU in the Philippines, with accompanying vid of Pope Francis visiting the country.
Swimsuit Competition up next!
Prince Royce performing now for the Swimsuit segment.
Miss Philippines MJ Lastimosa during the swimsuit competition
Swimsuit standouts for me are: Colombia, Philippines, Jamaica, Ukraine, Brazil and Australia.
THE TOP 10
1. JAMAICA – Kaci Fennell
2. COLOMBIA – Paulina Vega
3. UKRAINE – Diana Harkusha
4. ARGENTINA – Valentina Ferrer
5. PHILIPPINES – Mary Jean Lastimosa!!!
6. SPAIN – Desire Cordero Ferrer
7. NETHERLANDS – Yasmin Verhejen
8. VENEZUELA – Migbelis Castellanos
9. AUSTRALIA – Tegan Martin
10. USA – Nia Sanchez
Miss Philippines MJ Lastimosa when she was called to the Top 10.
Evening Gown Competition up next!
Nick Jonas performing during the Evening Gown Competition.
Evening Gown Standouts for me: ALL!(This is a really Tough TEN!) Higher five could be Jamaica, Colombia, Philippines, Spain and Venezuela.
Miss Congeniality is Miss Nigeria.
Miss Photogenic is Miss Puerto Rico.
Best in National Costume is Miss Indonesia.
The 88 members of Miss Universe Class of 2014-15 pose with Donald Trump (in cap, blue blazer and white pants).
In hindsight, this could be one of the easier editions of Miss Universe to predict. The favorites are so obvious. The Preliminary Competition helped to make them shine even more. And the countdown to the Top 15 from a big group of Eighty-eight (88) wide-eyed wonders shouldn’t be as tough as I had initially thought it would be.
But no, that’s just the reckless side of my brain working in maximum overdrive. In making fearless forecasts, there is no such thing as hitting 100% accuracy, let alone a second-guessed line-up that would score 14 out of 15 at best.
Be that as it may, I now present to you my final picks to be called on Sunday night’s finals and leave seventy-three (73) clappers in the dusty background.
Don’t mind the golf balls. They’re there just so that I can keep up with the Doral theme.
The fifteen (15) ladies I am predicting for the first cut come finals night. Top 10 would be the ones numbered #1-#10
Following the conclusion of the Preliminary Competition, some re-shuffling is in order to give way to ladies who outperformed the others and to downgrade those who are initially seeded to stamp their superiority but fell short of expectations.
The most consistent ones among the favorites are Miss Colombia Paulina Vega and Miss Philippines Mary Jean Lastimosa. They did not allow the pressure to get into their performance, unlike Miss Spain Desireé Ferrer and Miss Venezuela Migbelis Castellanos who were just alright in comparison. This development certainly allowed Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell to shoot up in my own rankings, alongside Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha. Miss USA Nia Sanchez remains middling, but at least she did not slide down in overall assessment. But breathing down her neck could be Miss Argentina Valentina Ferrer who is fast-tracking herself the true pageant way.
Miss Costa Rica Karina Ramos and Miss Serbia Andjelka Tomasevic are also solid spoilers who could tilt things in their favor. But for now, I still see them as safe Top 15 entries with a good shot at the Top 10. The rest of my Top 15 could be a bunch of wildcards where one or two just might deliver well on finals night. The most glaring part here, however, is Migbelis falling down several notches from the top tier to the third rung. She has a beautiful face and all, but sadly, will never hold a candle to Gabriela Isler. A back-to-back is clearly out of the question.
My Top 5 (from left to right): Miss Philippines MJ Lastimosa, Miss Colombia Paulina Vega, Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell, Miss Spain Desiree Ferrer and Miss USA Nia Sanchez
And so, we have here the five (5) delegates I am feeling so much love for that I have decided to make them Top 5. Miss USA Nia Sanchez almost didn’t make the magic circle for me, owing to a bull-headed performer from Ukraine who threatened to grab one golden place in the quintet. In the end, I gave the slight edge to the host delegate who will most likely be given higher scores by the judges.
Miss Philippines Mary Jean Lastimosa and Miss Colombia Paulina continue to lead the pack, but it is Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell who could be the thorn in either ladies’ path. The final Q&A is the one last hurdle to complete. Given that scenario and how I would expect these five beauties to answer the question, I am assigning my #1 to #5 places to:
MJ is the ONE for me…the 63rd Miss Universe and the 3rd Filipina Miss Universe
I am not dreaming. I can definitely see the Philippines winning a 3rd Miss Universe crown via Mary Jean Lastimosa. While others will counter that there are more crown-worthy victors, there is this element of boldness and maturity that embodies her personality. In my opinion, she is the one who has shown the most determination to win the whole thing. While Miss Colombia is very likely to get just as close to the crown as her, gut-feel tells me that Miss Jamaica will do a Yendi Phillips and finish next to our bet. Nia and Desireé will rank 4th and 5th in my endgame.
As I’ve always said in the past, predictions will never be absolute. In fact, I could still be overlooking one or two this late in the competition. But decisions need to made, and with finality. I can always healthily move on from defeat in my guesses and gracefully take all the potshots if proven to be sorely misguided in my views. One thing is for sure, though. I will never relinquish my support for Miss Philippines if the feeling is right and nobody – outside of the traditional judging & nothing – outside of acceptable lobbying – will get in the way. 🙂
The video below is a bit of a long watch on Sportsbook Review‘s betting favourites for the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant. But Lee Phelps gave out a number of interesting insights on who could take home the crown or who is likely not to. In particular, it will interest most of you to know who is the favourite to win vis-à-vis who is tipped to win come Sunday night’s finals.
Five names cropped up. Desiree Ferrer of Spain, Migbelis Castellanos of Venezuela, Nia Sanchez of the USA, Paulina Vega of Colombia and finally, Mary Jean Lastimosa of the Philippines.
The Judges in the Preliminaries with Paula Shugart (foreground) and Jeannie Mai (2nd from right)
Hours from now, the Preliminary Competition of the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant in Doral Miami will commence with the eighty-eight (88) official delegates vying for the Top Fifteen (15) spots that will make the first cut on Sunday night’s (Monday morning in Manila) finals at the FIU Arena.
I decided to share with you the candidates who I feel will deliver the goods to the judges in the swimsuit and evening gown rounds. It is possible that all or most of them will meet everyone’s expectations, and surprise performers will suddenly zoom up just as a few might also underwhelm.
Above are the fifteen (15) ladies I expect to excel in the Preliminaries for the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant. I included five (5) additional ladies as alternates just to make it a Top 20.
Left to right: Spain, Philippines and Colombia, the most anticipated ladies to deliver in the Prelims
Don’t forget to catch the Live Streaming on missuniverse.com. It will start today at around 8:00AM, Manila time. 😉
Top row from left: Honduras, Greece and Guyana. Bottom row from left: Egypt, Lebanon and El Salvador
I am no fashion plate. Neither am I an expert in fashion design. But this much I can say. I can easily spot the creations I would love to be seen wearing in public. In another life as a female, of course.
I picked six (6) delegates among the contenders of the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant in Doral Miami who could be considered underdogs in the competition. They don’t have the hype enjoyed by such popular candidates as Paulina Vega of Colombia, Migbelis Castellanos of Venezuela, Nia Sanchez of the USA and our very own MJ Lastimosa. But if you look closely, these less popular ladies have something in them that could surprise everyone come Preliminarues. And to top it off, I love their evening gowns.
But if I had to pick my favorite number among them, it would have to be the one worn by Michelle McLean deadringer Lara Debbane of Egypt. Correct me if I am wrong, but this one is courtesy of Egyptian Haute Couture Specialist Bahig Hussein.
For me, Miss Egypt Lara Debbane wore my most favorite evening gown among the candidates in their official shots
And if would select three of the most underrated contestants in this batch with a promising chance of shining through when it matters most, I would easily name Miss Greece Ismini Dafopulou, Miss Guyana Niketa Barker and Miss Honduras Gabriela Ordoñez.
From left to bottom right: Miss Greece Ismini Dafopoulou, Miss Honduras Gabriela Ordoñez and Miss Guyana Niketa Barker are three of the most underrated delegates in the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant
I would be more than glad to see one of the three pull ahead in the Prelims.
But before that happens, can I ask Miss Egypt to lend me her gown for a fitting first?
Is that a size 2? Darn. I was hoping it would at least be a 4. 😉
The background (different parts of Trump National Doral) may not be the most ideal, but these are the much-awaited glamshots of renowned photographer Fadil Berisha so the excitement for the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant has gone one notch higher. And do consider that these photos were taken during the first three days of registrations and fittings so the ladies were still somewhere in between feeling their way through and comfortably settling in.
I did not endeavor to come up with my ten best for this segment anymore, just the ones which caught my eye as soon as I got hold of all images in one sitting. 😉
Clockwise from top left: Australia, Brazil, Spain, Russia, Germany and Venezuela
Clockwise from top left: Colombia, Panama, South Africa, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and USA
Clockwise from top left: India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia
I took the liberty of posting the web interviews of the toughest competitors of the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant who could stand in the way of Miss Philippines MJ Lastimosa for the DIC Holding crown.
Compare them to our bet and tell me who did better and what could be their winning edge.
For sure, you will all be happy to learn that the Preliminary Competition – just like the January 25 Finals – of the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant in Doral Miami will be livestreamed on January 21 between 7:00PM-8:30PM (Miami time). This is a very important event so be sure to catch the show online.
And just so you know, HJ Blog (Hector Joaquin Blog) will be hosting a Live Q&A Event with three of the Miss Universe contestants, including our own Miss Philippines MJ Lastimosa.
Refer to the schedules below for Miss Philippines MJ Lastimosa
Good news, fans! We will be hosting a LIVE Q&A event with three Miss Universe contestants where YOU get to ask the questions.
Miss Universe Myanmar – January 13 at 12PM EST
Miss Universe Venezuela – January 13 at 2PM EST
Miss Universe Philippines – January 14 at 10AM EST
Be sure to check your local time zone and mark your calendars! Don’t forget to tune in to the 63rd Annual Miss Universe Pageant LIVE on January 25th at 8/7c only on NBC.
Some of you might ask why only Misses Myanmar, Philippines and Venezuela are part of the Live Q&A. It’s quite simple. The site traffic of HJ Blog must come strong from Myanmar and the Philippines, with Venezuela as a shoo-in for his Spanish-speaking readers. 😉
Miss Venezuela Migbelis Castellanos pose with her stylist for the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant
Getting glammed up for her shoot
She did come in later than everyone. But I reckon that is part of the game plan. Osmel must have really advised to time her arrival on the penultimate day of registration and fittings to make sure that there is increased excitement in her appearance. Thing is, there are also other ladies who were advised by their trainers to show up late (like Miss Singapore Rathi Menon who is under the wings of Ines Ligron).
At any rate, the cast is practically complete and all the ladies will start with their public pre-pageant activities very soon! 😀
Miss Venezuela Migbelis Castellanos (right) with Miss Dominican Republic Kimberly Castillo
Hi! Norman here. When I'm not working, I spend most of my free time planning on daily blogs. If you will notice, I always make sure that a fresh topic comes out everyday - not an easy thing to do but it's all good. Thanks for dropping by and enjoy the visit!
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