
Bb. Pilipinas Universe 2005 Gionna Cabrera in action during Miss Universe 2005

Gionna winning Miss Photogenic that year
As if Throwback Thursday posts are not enough, here is our first Senti Sunday Special. It won’t be a regular thing in this blog.
Yet.
The 2005 edition of Miss Universe was personally worth remembering. Firstly, it was held in my favorite city, Bangkok. Secondly, it had in strong contention one of my all-time favorite Miss Puerto Rico winners, Cynthia Olavarria. And thirdly, I had high hopes that Miss Philippines Gionna Cabrera would end the five-year (2000-2004) losing streak of the country and make it to the semifinals at the very least.
Well, it still wasn’t meant to be at that time. The semifinal placement for our bet, that is. She did not come home empty-handed, though. After getting the Best Style Award, she was able to pull a Miss Photogenic win during the live broadcast of the finals at the Impact Arena.

One of Gionna's latest photos used during the Women of Distinction exchibit by Katha Awardee Ann Ong (Photo credit: Philip Dizon)
Gionna was a favorite by most everyone. But I guess her cumulative scores were not high enough to make the first cut.
As for the results, I was rooting for Miss Puerto Rico (who, in my opinion, has one of the most elegant evening gown walks in modern MU history) till the very end. Kinda broken-hearted that she was nosed out by Canada’s Natalie Glebova for the title.
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