Pia was not a standout in every round but she made it a point to make every cut and did her final blow in the Top 5 and then Top 3 Q&A.
The ballgame has always been like that in the Miss U pageant. The front-runner not being able to sustain the fight when the dimension of the competition changes from beauty (form) to wits (being).
Take the case of Caroline Izsak of Venezuela who was a complete standout in Miss Universe 1992 but was given a mediocre interview score in the Top 6 making her not to advance to final 3.
The pageant was won by Namibia's Michelle McLean. Now it should be noted that McLean was just a semifinalist in the Miss World 1991 pageant which Ninibeth Leal of Venezuela won. Leal on the other hand was Izsak's runner up in the Miss Venezuela national pageant. Of all those instances that Venezuela failed to win the crown despite a very strong performance, it was with Izsak's that they feel they were robbed of the crown
And who could forget Mika Chulina of Venezuela taken over by Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico in Miss Universe 1993? Minorca Mercado again of Venezuela versus Sushmita Sen of India in Miss Universe 1994 in the Phil. Our very own Miriam Quiambao versus Mpule Kwelagobe of Bootswana in 1999.
Pia's failure in Binibining Pilipinas 2013 and 2014 helped her get into this mindset that every round counts. She aced all the segments during the Miss Universe 2015 finals without any reservation.
Just like Perez Hilton said, Colombia came to lose, while Philippines came to win.
