Century Tuna turned up the summer heat in a fabulous affair to remember held at the exclusive Palace Pool Club, as Tom Esconde and Olivia Medina were declared the grand winners, the Superbods of the Decade, of the Century Tuna Superbods Nation 2016. It’s the first time for Esconde, a Filipino-Swedish information-technology technician, to join such as search while Filipino-Canadian Medina already has stints as a print and fashion model.
Bagging first runner-up honors were Clint Bondand and Ambra Gutierrez, while Chet Abella and Ali Khatibi walked away with 2nd runner up. The Superbods search, now celebrating its 10th glorious year, truly lived up to its promise of being bigger, better, and sexier—and is undoubtedly the hottest event this summer!
Both Tom Esconde and Olivia Medina took home generous prizes: P500,000 cash each and a 1-year contract as brand ambassador of Century Tuna. The 1st runners-up received P250,000 each, while the 2nd runners-up bagged P100,000 each and all the finalists took home P30,000 each. In his remarks, Greg Banzon, Century Pacific Food, Inc. Vice-President and General Manager, expressed his delight in the diversity of the Superbods Finalists. “What we are seeing tonight is a true cross section, a convergence”, he declared. “I’m happy to see finalists who are Eurasians, Filipino-Americans, Filipino-Chinese, and of different backgrounds and interests.”
Century Tuna heats up summer
Seen firing up the runway and electrifying the stage were the 26 finalists from across our islands and the United States—all of whom underwent a rigorous and intensive screening process—from the initial go-sees, the personal development workshops, and the challenges during pre-finals weekend—as they sashayed down the runway in their swimwear and evening resort wear, much to the excitement and the adulation of the crowd. They were also made to respond to questions in the Q and A segment that drew applause from audiences as well.
Special prizes were handed out as well that evening, and these include: Beach Bodies—Shawn Stansbury and Ambra Gutierrez; People’s Choice—Kaara Tan and Pio Luz; Fittest Individual—Clint Bondad and Ambra Gutierrez; Belo Beautiful Skin—Clint Bondad and Chet Abella; Stylish Superbod of the Night —Olivia Medina and Clint Bondad; Most Photogenic—Natalia LaLonde and Tom Esconde; Runway Superbod of the Night—Ameen Sardouk and Chet Abella; and the Superbods challenge winners—Cassie Umali and Andrew Aurellano.
Sitting in the distinguished Board of Judges along with Banzon—who no doubt had a tough time in choosing the winners—were Miss Universe 1969 and Century Tuna’s first celebrity endorser Gloria Diaz, fashion editor and stylist Liz Uy, UAAP basketball star Jerone Teng, Mediaquest and TV5 president and CEO Noel Lorenzana, Intelligent Skincare Inc and Belo Medical Group Managing Director Cristalle Belo Henares, and PC&V Communications President and Chief Creative Officer Ariel Comia.
After the program, Esconde happily shared that “I’m still in shock. We worked hard for this. It’s just so amazing,” while Olivia relayed that “This is such a great blessing for me. The experience was so amazing, I really pushed myself and never gave up. And I also made a lot of amazing friendships!”