The Amazing Race Philippines Celebrity Edition (DryedMangoez Edition Season 7) – Meet the Teams


IntroductionMeet The TeamsLeg 1Leg 2Leg 3Leg 4Leg 5Leg 6Leg 7Leg 8Leg 9Leg 10Leg 11Leg 12/Final Leg


So who is Racing on The Amazing Race Philippines Celebrity Edition (DryedMangoez Edition Season 7)?

The 12 celebrity teams are (taken from this pool of possibilities ????????):

The Loveteams

Alyssa & Kiefer #TeamKiefLy or #ThePhenoms – Friends/”Phenoms”
Friends and champion volleyball and basketball players. While they have their eyes on the Race championship, will they also find out if there’s something more than friends in their relationship?

Alden & Maine #TeamMaiDen – Loveteam/Friends
As “Alden” and “Yaya Dub,” they’ve become the hottest and most popular “loveteam” in the Philippines. Will their on-screen magic carry over onto the Race?

Shaira & Mark #TeamShark – Loveteam/Friends
After a starring turn in Baker King, Shaira & Mark have cemented their status as TV5’s most popular loveteam. Will their strong chemistry and friendship help them win on the Race?

Parent/Child Teams

Gino & Josh #TeamPadilla – Father/Son
This talented father and son share a love for music. Gino is a veteran singer, Josh is an actor, singer and TV host. Will their father/son bond be strong enough to get them through the Race?

Andre & Benjie (or Kobe & Benjie) #TeamParas – Father/Son
The son definitely follows in their father’s footsteps. As both have proven their talent in basketball, will their skills on the court translate to Race success?

Eula & Miguel #TeamValdez – Mother/Son
Award winning actress Eula Valdez maybe best known as Amor Powers from the original Pangako Sa Yo. Teaming up with her son Miguel, will other teams be intimidated by their combination of brains, brawn and attitude?

Vicki & Christalle #TeamBelo – Mother/Daughter
This mother/daughter team is used to the finer things in life as they cater to the superficial whims of the stars. But will they be able to handle the less than glamorous rigors of the Race?

The Funny Ones

Jose & Wally #TeamJoWa – Comic Duo/Best Friends
They’ve been one of the most popular comic duos in the country. After a sex tape scandal threatened to tear their popular tandem apart, they have managed to come back stronger than ever. How will they balance the laughs with the seriousness in running the Race?

Sweet & Ate Gay #TeamSweetGay – Comedians/Friends
John “Sweet” Lapus and Gil “Ate Gay” Morales are no stranger to both having fun and stirring up some trouble. Will they be able to still keep laughing while showing they’ve got what it takes to win the Race?

The Siblings

Enchong & AJ #TeamDee – Brothers
Aljur & Vin #TeamAbrenica – Brothers
(Applies to both lol) For them, it runs in the family. Athletic, handsome, talented actors. Will their brotherly bond be the advantage they need to finish #1?

Belle & Ava #TeamDaza – Sisters
Their mother was Miss Universe. Now they’ll get the chance to win a different type of crown as they Race around the world. Will they be able to show everyone that they’re more than just beautiful sisters?

Erwin & Raffy #TeamTulfo – Brothers
You don’t want to mess with these guys. There’s no doubting their toughness and competitiveness. Will they intimidate the other teams? And can they translate that into an Amazing win?

Sanghyun & Sandara #TeamPark – Siblings
They may be full-blooded Koreans, but they definitely left their hearts in the Philippines. Both have made names for themselves in the world of K-pop. Can they use their experiences from that brutal world to push them to win the Race?

The Couples

Danica & Marc #TeamPingris – Married
Danica already works for TV5 with Happy Wife, Happy Life and Marc represents TV5’s commitment to the PBA. A fit, young married couple is a TAR staple. Will their strong marriage and athletic abilities stand the test of the Race?

Christopher & Gladys #TeamSommereux – Married
These married parents of three are industry vets, known for their iconic roles as well as their happy family life. They are also no stranger to playing the villain in many of those television and film roles. Will that fiery experience be just what they need to reach the Finish Line first?

Iya & Drew #TeamArellano – Married
If you want a fit celebrity couple, look no further than Iya & Drew. Not only that, these newlyweds have plenty of travel experience (Drew hosts his own travel show on GMA). Do they have the right combination to take it all the way?

Megan & Mikael #TeamDoubleM – Dating
After being coy about the real status of their relationship for months, Mikael Daez and Miss World Megan Young are treating the Race as their big coming out party. Also with plenty of travel experience, will the new freedom of their relationship allow them to concentrate on the big prize?

Aubrey & Troy #TeamRedemption – Dating/Parents
Aubrey was one of the early eliminations in the first season of The Amazing Race Asia. Now she’s Racing with her significant other. Will she be successful at her quest for Race redemption?

Borgy & Georgina #TeamGeorgy – Dating Models
Their on-again/off-again relationship has been the subject of many Philippine gossip columns the last few years. Now that they’re on again, this supermodel couple’s relationship will be put to the ultimate test. Will their relationship survive the Race? Or is their competitiveness enough to get them the win?

“Casting Director’s” Commentary

So! (lol)

This is an interesting shortlist. Maybe a little safe.

What’s hard in even coming up with such a list is you don’t really know who would be willing to do such a reality show like TAR. Other celebrity reality shows involve just sitting around in a house (Hello Pinoy Big Brother!) or something like Extra Challenge on GMA which only films over a few days, if that. Survivor Philippines had two celebrity seasons (Audrey Miles being on one of them!), so it’s not impossible to have willing celebs wanting to travel the world.

Plus, plenty of celeb teams actually did audition for TARPH. None of the ones that did I included here. (Though some hopefuls like Wilma Doesn’t or Rosanna Roces (!) would be good choices too.)

But for this shortlist, I basically followed the TAR template of having friends, siblings, co-workers, married parents and couples.

Of course there are teams that are more possible than others. Contract stars of other networks like Alden & Maine or Enchong Dee and Isabelle Daza probably have less chance to be allowed to be borrowed. But you never know.

The three “loveteams” secure the young demo. Especially those crazy (in a nice way) AlDub fans. #TeamKiefLy and #TeamShark are homegrown TV5 couplings so they’d be shoo-ins.

Parent/child teams are always interesting teams. Many times, they are the teams one roots most for. Other times (hello Dave & Conner!) they are the worst. Gino & Josh and Benji & Andre are the only father/son duos in showbiz I can think of off the top of my head. And Eula & Miguel would be an interesting mother/son team. I can’t think of any other mother/son team either. There’s Ai-Ai and her son who has just signed with GMA. Or we can get the fireworks with Rosanna Roces and her son (who auditioned for TARPH1), but they’re not even speaking I think. With the Belos, they’d be that fancy, sosyal team who either hate getting down and dirty with certain tasks or will prove everyone wrong and actually compete.

For the requisite funny teams, again, what funny duos are there in Philippine showbiz who would logically be a good fit for a Celebrity Edition. Of course, there’s plenty of the comedy bar regulars. People like a Brod Pete and Long Meijia kind of deal too. But I would think Jose & Wally are the biggest comic duo in the country right now and would be interesting to see Racing (if Eat Bulaga can bear to part with them for a month). John Sweet Lapus would be guaranteed hilarity, no doubt. Biting one-liners and possibly some inappropriate humor from a likeable person? Go for it. I had no idea who’d be his partner though. But Ate Gay on his own would be a good choice too, and they’ve worked together so, I guess.

Some interesting siblings here. Enchong & AJ and Aljur & Vin are the usual alpha male bro teams. And you certainly need at least one. Aljur & Vin would probably be the most likely. #TeamDaza, like the Belos, could fit into that sosyal team-can-do-anything vibe. Sandara & Thunder can add that K-pop vibe to the season. Sandara has regularly shown how much she loves and misses the Philippines. And her brother Cheondung was supposed to be a judge on TV5’s canceled KISPinoy. TARPH would definitely need a brother/sister team.

And who would ever mess with #TeamTulfo? They’d be the requisite older team, but they’d likely be one of the most competitive teams as well. Definitely can’t doubt that.

As for the couples, it’s heavy on the married parents, low on the dating couples which usually deliver the most fireworks. Borgy & Georgina are the best bet for that. A perfect story going into the Race. Megan & Mikael would probably be the “nice” young, fit couple. Danica & Mark and Iya & Drew would be the fit young married couple who’d be most competitive. While Gladys & Christopher can be the “older” couple who may or not be competitive and funny.

And of course, Audrey Miles is a must for a Celebrity Season. Apparently Troy auditioned with brother KC before. They’d be a formidable team and a possibility as well. But can’t pass up this opportunity for Aubrey to do TAR and get her redemption.

Now, a big problem with this list is that several of these teams not only know each other, but are very close. So it would need to be one or the other. I definitely don’t want a repeat of TARPH2 (the real one) where several teams already knew each other before the Race. (Hello Juan Directioners and girlfriends. What?!) So it should only be one of either #TeamMaiDen and #TeamJoWa. #TeamDaza or #TeamGeorgy (the Daza sisters and Georgina are cousins). Definitely not both. This isn’t Family Edition. (That was season 5. lol)

Plus, it is doubtful you’d get any fun drama unless you cast someone like Rosanna Roces or alcohol-loving Anne Curtis, John Lloyd Cruz and Enrique Gil. What Filipino celebrities don’t care if they come across as a bitch or an asshole on TV?

If it were me, I’d rather not have a Celebrity Season at all. But right now, a Celebrity Season (whether on TV5 or God forbid, ABS-CBN) is more likely than even considering a season 3 at all. =(

And again though, you can use this route for a regular ol’ season. There really won’t be anything that distinguishes this route or the tasks differently from any other season. Any celeb will have to do tasks just as challenging as regular teams.

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