We will know the successor of Gabriela Isler's Miss Universe crown in less than 12 hours. The Filipino people, being a nation of pageant lovers, are in the edge of their seats and praying hard that our bet, Mary Jean Lastimosa, will bring home the elusive crown after 41 years!

Philippines' bets to the yearly pageant are exemplary in the last four years with Venus Raj, Shamcey Supsup, Janine Tugonon and Ara Arida all placing in the Top 5. It's a good accomplishment that established the Philippines as a Powerhouse of Beauty and a legit threat to those leggy, brown-haired Latinas.

MJ, the fierce and glam rep for this year, is already a winner for me whatever is the outcome tomorrow. She trained a lot and never gave up her dream of winning Binibining Pilipas' top title even after numerous tries. I am not too sold on her in the beginning but she won me over with her humility, her love for the country, her determination, and her fierce attitude. I really really hope that MJ will end the Miss Universe drought for us. Aside from bringing pride and honor for the country - I truly believe that MJ deserves the crown more than anybody else - including the bets from previous years. :)

I share the same sentiments of my favorite pageant blogger, Norman: "I am not dreaming. I can definitely see the Philippines winng 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."

As for the other girls - here are my finals and semi-finals predictions.  I based this on the Preliminary Competition, behind-the-scenes blogs and forums, photos, and videos I found online.

Here are the rest of my Top 15 choices for the semi-finals in alphabetical order: Miss Argentina, Miss Brazil, Miss Costa Rica (she's a super favorite of mine and I wish that she will place higher), Miss, Dominican Republic, Miss India, Miss Indonesia, Miss Mexico, Miss Ukraine, Miss Russia, and Miss Venezuela. 

I am not a super expert and these are just my choices based on what I read and watched in the past few weeks. The Miss Universe Finals is going to be at 8:00 pm in Doral, Miami and 9:00 am in Manila. The telecast of ABS-CBN will only begin at 10:00 am so start googling for reliable livestreams as early as now. [Edit: Starworld in SD/HD will start the telecast at 9:00 am, Manila Time. Thanks for the tip, Jona!]

Goodluck, ladies! It's going to be an exciting and beautiful day tomorrow! Emocionante!


[Photo Credits: Missosology, MissUniverse.com]