I was a judge at Dolores Tropicana Resort Hotel’s Bikini Open 2008!
Although quite belatedly, am posting here the pictures which my partner took of the Bikini Open 2008 held last April 19, 2008 at the Dolores Tropicana Resort Hotel, a subsidiary of the RD Group at Barangay Tambler, here in Gen. Santos City.
I would have loved to take shots myself of the 16 or so candidates while doing their thing but I had my hands full as the Chairman of the Board of Judges that evening. The competition was divided into three parts but surprisingly, the criteria were the same for all the categories. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do and so I just sat back, started to diligently perform my job and enjoy the rest of the evening.
Still, for a bikini affair (at the beach at that), I found the pacing of the whole thing sooooo slow that it was difficult trying to keep myself awake at times. The concept however, by director Al-nezzar Ali was something not to be sneezed at and maybe with a more conscious effort to speed up stagings of events like this and some tweaks here or there, he will definitely soon turn out to be Socsksargen’s most acclaimed director.
There were no exceptional standouts from among the male candidates this year and most were lanky, had underdeveloped bods and lacked the prerequisite hunk factor. They looked like little boys standing side by side last year’s Bikini Hunk Winner.
But the girls were another thing though. Anybody could be a runaway winner among them at first glance and am sure, just like myself, the other judges had a hard time choosing the sexiest from among this batch.
Eventually, we all unanimously agreed that this year’s 2008 Bikini Babe had to be Ms. Joy Gumanay who had the best physical attributes, spunk and winningest personality among them. The Bikini Hunk 2008 Title went to Jolo Garcia of Davao, he who had a strong stage presence and was the tallest.
Now the photos (click on each one for a larger view please)….
Below are Bikini Babe and Hunk 3rd Runners-up Aeza Faeldona and Michael Roda.
Next are Bikini Babe and Hunk 2nd Runners-up Winners Marissa Laura Ramos and Michael Jabiles.
1st Runners-up Bikini Babe and Hunk Leah Avelino and Wilson Bernasor below…
The 2008 Bikini Hunk Jolo Garcia and Bikini Babe Joy Gumanay!!!
The 2008 Bikini Hunk & Babe with their court below.
Thanks to RD Hotels VP Tata Mondido for the invitation and her staff for warm welcome they afforded me and my posse that evening. I was with Tata during the 1st incarnation of this competition 8 years ago (as a member of NBC’s Anna 97.5‘s event team) and I must say, their Bikini Open which started with just a small budget and minimal fanfare has now grown into the summer institution that it is right now, eagerly awaited and anticipated all across Socsksargen.
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Bariles is a Filipino word for “Tuna”, the primary source of income of the people of General Santos City which hosts 6 of the Philippines’ 8 tuna canneries and more than 80% of its tuna processing plants.
ogag Says:
http://profiles.friendster.com/46427227
check this out!!
Posted on May 15th, 2008 at 12:24 AM
jmac Says:
when is the next competition???
Posted on May 15th, 2008 at 11:39 AM
bariles Says:
hi joe! next year, when you are back for your vacation. will recommend you to be the backstage guard. hehehe.
Posted on May 15th, 2008 at 2:27 PM
Richard Says:
di ko yan alam ah.. sasali sana ako.. hehee..
Posted on May 17th, 2008 at 4:15 PM
abby Says:
wow! im sure you had so much fun. i’ve never been to a live bikini open before though i heard my province held one last summer (caramoan, camarines sur). i hope i could witness one next time.
cool site, you’ve got here. never thought there’s so much more to gensan than just tuna.
hope you don’t mind exchanging links
abby
BOTH SIDES NOW
http://seaprincess72.wordpress.com
abbys last blog post..Cabuyao Bank Robbery Update
Posted on May 23rd, 2008 at 11:18 AM
bariles Says:
Hello Richard! Why not? There is still Bikini Grind on May 30 here. Hehehe!
Abby, thanks for commenting. Do check back later. Will do a separate links page for friends, old and new. Ciao!
Posted on May 23rd, 2008 at 12:15 PM
It’s still summer in GenSan with BIKINI GRIND 2008! | Says:
[...] and downtown Gensan’s Sydney Hotel. The staging of another bikini competition last April, the Bikini Open Competition 2008 was also sponsored by a member of a hotel chain (Dolores Tropicana Resort Hotel) in the city owned [...]
Posted on May 25th, 2008 at 2:41 PM
orman Says:
ali will have to repackage himself. his last fashion show in the same venue was also a disaster (not counting the rain and that accidental gunshot). his most recent shows are becoming to show more of his nuances as an artist (which is sometimes too deep to decipher) rather than putting up a show that will leave everyone happy by the end. clearly, ali (who is a good friend) is a good director. his first take on the tropicana bikini open was a smashing success — unfortunately success sometimes bloats the ego – this time his artistic ego. weep not, ali, you can still get out of this rut and give us a damn good show the next time around.
Posted on May 25th, 2008 at 9:20 PM
vienn Says:
ano ba yan, bikini ba yan..bat balot na balot? wa lami
Posted on June 5th, 2008 at 8:58 PM
bariles Says:
orman, amen. but i agree that ali still has a lot to offer gensan. he’s a genius when it comes to these things.
vienna, hahahaha! nice observation. this is because of the GAD Ordinance of the city (Gender Awareness something) where they are quite strict on women’s outfits. Yea, it’s a bit of a letdown.
Posted on June 8th, 2008 at 7:07 PM
Bikini Open from GenSan's Dolores Tropicana Resort | Bariles Republic's GenSan News Online Mag Says:
[...] of the most awaited events every summer in General Santos City is Dolores Tropicana Resort Hotel’s Bikini Open. It has been ongoing for almost a decade now and each year, the candidates are getting better and [...]
Posted on April 14th, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Toots Says:
Too bad, my dog gave birth that day. Didn’t have the chance to watch it. Next year again. Hope no one gives birth. lol
Tootss last blog post..New Born Pups
Posted on April 20th, 2009 at 12:07 AM