Who will survive the final stretch?

MANILA, Philippines - Aubrey Miles is dubbed the “villain.” Akihiro Sato is “Mr. Nice Guy.” Solenn Heusaff is called Ang Diwata sa Isla. And Ervic Vijandre is tagged the “Power Player.”

Now, their fate as the Final Four in Survivor Philippines hangs in the balance as the time of reckoning has come. Followers of GMA’s reality show will find out who will be called the Sole Survivor this week, as the game reaches its final stretch, with a mysterious twice thrown in for good measure.

Win or lose, the Final Four agrees their one-month stay in the island is a journey worth taking. Like all journeys of self-discovery, getting there is just half the fun. The many bumps and twists along the way is a thrill ride in itself.

There, away from family and friends and with complete strangers around them, the Final Four took a crash course on life with a capital L.

Like life, no one said a month on the island would be easy. No textbook – however thick – prepared the Final Four for what they went through.

Lies had to be said. Betrayals made. Loneliness endured. But friendships also blossomed. Lessons were learned. And everyday became more colorful.

Aubrey admits she had to lie to survive.

“Betrayal is the nature of the game,” she explains. And she had to endure the unkind descriptions attached to her name. People attacked her being a mother. Someone said Aubrey will do everything in the game because husband Troy has no more money.

Aubrey grinned and decided to bear it. But Troy wanted to cry foul. He could have spoken his mind in public but Aubrey said no.

“It’s not that I’ve grown numb,” says Aubrey. “I know myself.”

No, she didn’t join for the prize money (P3-M, tax free) as she first claimed she did.

She joined the game to get the Sole Survivor title and nothing else.

“I can earn the money myself,” Aubrey says.

But if she does win, this mother of one (to Hunter, two) will get nothing for herself. She will save it all for her son.

Solenn is different. She may have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. But the model, socialite, artist and entrepreneur wants to keep half of the prize money she will win for herself, if ever she will be named Sole Survivor. The rest will go to charity.

“Everyone needs money. I haven’t earned anything on my own,” she admits.

So instead of asking money from her parents, Solenn vowed she will invest in an apartment so she can get additional income from.

The charity part will come in when she gives part of her prize money to CRIBS Foundation for orphans and a Tawi-Tawi school her dad is helping.

But what are her chances of winning in the first place?

Solenn is not as self-assured as Aubrey, whom she (Solenn) considers her strongest rival.

“When I watched Survivor, I saw how they felt about me not needing the (prize) money,” Solenn explains. That’s why Solenn thinks she won’t win even if she knows she played the game well and deserves the top plum.

Ervic: Survivor has taught him to expect the unexpected

She doesn’t have to bag the title though. This early, Solenn already feels a winner because Survivor taught her to appreciate little things she used to take for granted.

Her brother is one.

“I used to tell him to go away whenever he came up to me and hugged me. But when I saw him in the island, it was like a scene straight out of a movie. I missed him!”

Skipping a shower on the island and sleeping in harsh surroundings have made Solenn less of the neat freak she used to be.

The show also opened wide the doors of showbiz for her.

“I used to say I won’t enter showbiz. I don’t want to be made fun of. Besides, I’ve never tried acting.”

But Solenn is eating her words. She now wants to start with a comedy project since Solenn admits she finds it hard to cry in front of the camera. Acting workshops are also in the drawing board.

Like Solenn, Ervic wants to get his feet wet in showbiz after Survivor. Having a following has made him feel at ease before the klieg lights. Ervic himself was taken aback.

“I didn’t know I’ll enjoy showbiz,” he relates. “It’s funny. I’ve never danced nor sung. I already danced on stage in Cebu and sang thrice in Iloilo. I’ve come out of my shell.”

Time was when all he wanted was to move out of ex-girlfriend Marian Rivera’s shadow, have a billboard and join a reality show. That done, Ervic has moved on to another dream. This time, all he wants is to grace the cover of a men’s health magazine. He’s an athlete and rightfully proud of his stamina.

“That’s what I’ll do if I win the grand prize,” says the self-confessed Mama’s Boy.

He also promises to ‘strategize’ his life. Survivor has taught Ervic to expect the unexpected. For one, he never planned to be visible in Survivor, but Ervic handily did. He has also found an ally in Aubrey.

If his power moves made Ervic stay in the game, Akihiro’s smile made him hurdle all the challenges he faced. The Brapanese hunk with the Pinoy heart won more fans by just flashing that winning smile.

But just how far will his smile take him at the game’s homestretch?

All Akihiro knows is he has seen the worst — not only in his surroundings but in people as well. He endured having no food, the worst weather and others that can try the toughest of men.

But that’s nothing compared to the intrigues he faced.

“I’m tired of this dating game,” he protests. That why he doesn’t plan to join Survivor again. It’s enough that he has experienced it, “not for the money, but to see how it works.”

All the betrayals are water under the bridge for Akihiro now. What matters, he says, is that they are all safe and healthy.

Mr. Nice Guy is also happy at finding out that he is strong enough to withstand loneliness in the island, thousands of miles away from home.

He will prioritize his family should he win the P3-M grand prize.

“I want to bring my family here, and put up a restaurant, which is our business in Brazil,” he relates.

Meantime, showbiz beckons. Survivor has taught Akihiro more Tagalog words. And he plans to keep on learning.

As in all games, Survivor will have only one winner. But non-winners will not go home empty-handed. The things they learned and discovered about themselves along the way are worth a lifetime of wisdom.

There are no losers. Just lessons learned, friendships formed, and a braver way of facing the world.