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Maxine Medina, the Philippines’ bet to the Miss Universe pageant, drew the loudest cheers during the swimsuit portion of the preliminary competition, held Thursday night at the SM Arena of the Mall of Asia.

Medina vowed a back to back win for the country, after Pia Wurtzbach wowed the Miss Universe pageant and took home the crown in 2015, ending a 42-year title drought.

Wurtzbach hosted Thursday’s preliminary competition with actor Derek Ramsey. Among the judges was Miss Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres.

Spotted in the audience watching was Miss Universe 1991 Lupita Jones. Medina had been hounded with questions over her communication skills in English, raising the possibility of using an interpreter. But she said was open to using Filipino during the question-and-answer portion on coronation night. /ATM