Mandaue bet crowned Bb. Pilipinas Grand International 2017

CEBU, Philippines - A Fil-Romanian who considers Mandaue City, Cebu her hometown surprised pageant followers with a Top 6 placement after being considered among this batch’s dark horses.

Elizabeth Durado Clenci, candidate 39, was crowned Monday dawn as Bb. Pilipinas Grand International 2017.

Asked by news anchor Ted Failon, one of this year’s judges, how she makes her time productive when she’s caught in heavy, terribly frustrating traffic, the Miss Colombia Andrea Tovar look-alike responded: “If I’m caught in traffic, what I usually do is read and sleep, ‘coz time is of the essence so I feel like when you’re stuck in traffic, you really need to make use of your time. So, I read or I sleep or talk on the phone with a loved one.”

A member of the Kagandahang Flores beauty camp, the 26-year-old has been a full-time session bassist for the past three years.

This is Elizabeth’s second Bb. Pilipinas try. She first joined the pageant in 2011 (the year Shamcey Supsup won the major title of Miss Universe Philippines) along with her younger sister Sarah Nicole Clenci. Both represented Nasipit, Agusan del Norte. While Sarah made it among the Top 15 candidates, Elizabeth was shut out from a semi-finalist placement.

In 2015, BPCI (Bb. Pilipinas Corporation, Inc.) handpicked Bb. Pilipinas Tourism 2014 Parul Shah as that year’s representative to Miss Grand International. She placed third runner-up.

Last year, Nicole Cordoves improved on that placement with a controversial first runner-up finish in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It is now on Elizabeth’s shoulders whether to surpass Nicole’s achievement later this year in Vietnam and hand the Philippines its first Miss Grand International crown. (FREEMAN)