Hot guys and gals of summer

The days are longer. The sun is brighter. The clothes are barer. And the people are hotter! Ah ... summer, you can easily tell when it’s on its way. Coffee shops offer more chilled concoctions than usual. More and more are (decadently or guiltlessly) eating ice cream. Girls start shopping for bikinis. And the ultimate summer event kicks off: the Nestea Beach Volleyball 2005 and the court action is taking place very soon. Before anyone starts spiking or serving any volleyballs though, it would be a cool idea to first ignite the summer spirit in everyone. Nestea did just that with the Nestea Beach House Party.

The all-out event was held last Feb. 25 at the Power Plant Mall Rooftop. It was a night of endless fun as everyone enjoyed the vocals of Ciudad and Bamboo who kept the crowd on their happy feet. Guests were also treated to glass after glass of refreshing Nestea Iced Tea and tasty Milo Chocolate Drink. And there was more: It was also a night of action, gorgeous guys and gals action, that is.

Yep, Nestea’s definitely welcoming summer in style. With partners Speedo, Mimi, Nullah, and Porcupine, Nestea held its very first Nestea Summer Guys and Gals contest. It’s a search for 16 young women and men who put the "h" in hot. The winners of the competition will be flown to the ultimate summer paradise, Boracay, where they will play Nestea’s official models all throughout the Beach Volleyball 2005 finals.

The contest was hosted by DJ Wendell Garcia who got a lot of people to participate in some amusing contests in between the ramp walks. Among these were the Nestea Iced Tea with Rum drinking contest and Put-On-That-Coppertone contest. Winning teams for both received some wonderful gift packs from Nestea. With 40 contestants strutting their stuff, choosing only eight pairs was no easy task. Still, yours truly felt really lucky to be picked as one of the judges in the contest, along with famed director and actor Epi Quizon, photographer/businessman Lou Rodriguez, and Nestea brand manager Tina Samaco. All through the night, we, along with a huge crowd of students, watched all 20 pairs of gorgeous people work the ramp wearing clothes by Speedo, Porcupine, Mimi, and Nullah.

It was really a delight to watch students cheering for their respective schools. The contestants came from 15 schools around Metro Manila, including De La Salle University, University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University, Ateneo University, College of St. Benilde, San Beda College, Chiang Kai Shek College, St. Scholastica’s College, PBSA, and University of Asia and the Pacific. Everyone in the audience got to vote for his/her Summer Gal and Guy of choice through the text line. The text votes made up 50 percent of the contestants’ score. The other 50 percent came from our judging panel who graded all 40 guys and gals for appearance, style, x-factor, and projection.

It took some time before we could come up with the winners. After all, it was a really close fight as all 40 contestants looked pretty darned good. Alas, only 16 are to experience a summer like no other and the cut had to be made. So, wanna know who will be going to Boracay and getting a glorious tan soon? I guess I shouldn’t keep you in suspense any longer.

The oldest among the girls is 22-year-old Roma K. Thadani, who’s taking up E-Business and Web Technology at Asia Pacific College. There are Ma. Jean I. Gatpandan and Kristina Therease D. Uy, both 19-year-old Business Administration students at UST. Other 19-year-olds among the Summer Gals are Business Management student Gwyneth Georgine C. Albarracin from UA&P, Legal Management student Ma. Romina I. Fernandez from FEU and Marketing student LC Genesis C. So from Chiang Kai Chek College. The "babies" in the group are 18-year-old Hotel Restaurant and Management student Liezl Ann S. Ramos of Lyceum of the Philippines and 17-year-old Production Design student Rachel T. Carrasco of the College of St. Benilde.

At 24, Marketing student Mike Monroe C. Yu from Chiang Kai Chek College is the oldest of the Summer Guys. He is followed by 21-year-old Jeremy Francis V. Mempin, a Business Administration student at UST. Meanwhile, there’s also 20-year-old Engineering students Martin Miguel L. Arellano, who’s taking up Civil Engineering at UP-Diliman, and John Christopher G. Barbasa, who’s studying Manufacturing Engineering Management at DLSU. Then there’s 18-year-old Gerard P. Opulencia, a Civil Engineering student at Mapua Institute of Technology. Wrapping up the list are 19-year-old Business Management students John Vincent A. Zamora and Johan B. Pajara, both from Asia Pacific College, and 18-year-old Export Management student Christopher C. Darmstadter from the College of St. Benilde.

While the Summer Guys and Gals may have already been chosen, there is more summer action to come. The Nestea Beach Volleyball eliminations will be held on April 1 to 7 at the courts of La Salle Greenhills. After that, the winners from this round can briefly hone their volley skills some more before they meet up with their closest rivals for the much-awaited Nestea Beach Volleyball finals in Boracay on May 5 to 7. The event is sponsored by Speedo, Mikasa, Cebu Pacific, Hey Jude Resorts, La Salle Greenhills, Villa De Oro, Coppertone, Boracay Regency, Le Soleil, Power Plant Mall, National Sports Grill, and Click The City.Com. It’s undeniable that Nestea just turned up the heat. Only one question remains: Can you handle it?

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E-mail the author ice_wave_42@yahoo.com.