Philippines’ bet Rachel Peters advanced to the Top 16 of the Miss Universe 2017 pageant held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on Monday.

The crowd roared in excitement and relief after pageant host Steve Harvey announced the name of Peters, who was not named among the semifinalists chosen from the Asia and the Pacific and Africa category.

Peters was called as semifinalist under the Wildcard category, along with Venezuela, Jamaica, and China.

Other contestants of the annual beauty pageant who made to the Top 16 were:

Africa and Asia Pacific – Thailand, Sri Lanka, Ghana, South Africa

Europe – Spain, Ireland, Croatia, Great Britain

Americas – Colombia, USA, Brazil, Canada

The 66th Miss Universe pageant is being held at The Axis Theater in Las Vegas.          /kga