Nino could have been ‘it’

The Voice of the Philippines has found a winner in Jason Dy of Team Sarah of Pop Star Royalty Sarah Geronimo. There were four artists in contention: Rence Rapanot for Camp Kawayan of Coach Bamboo, Alisah Bonaobra for Team Apl of Apl de Ap, Jason Dy for Team Sarah  and power belter Leah Patricio for Team Lea of Coach Lea Salonga.

And speaking of Team Lea, not a few people thought that rocker Nino Alejandro — cousin to Rachel and nephew to ’70s Kilabot ng Kolehiyala Hajji Alejandro — would be the team’s anointed one to move forward to the Grand Finals. But as they all know now, things turned out very differently. Nino, a powerful rock vocalist, was eliminated, and Coach Lea chose Leah Patricio, the last female standing on her team, to be the one to represent them in the finals.

At that point, says Nino, he was actually ready to go anytime. He had been mentally and emotionally preparing for it from the time they performed the first live show until the point where he actually got sent home. He knew anything could happen.

According to Nino, all of them who were still in contention at that point were very nervous.

He felt it as soon as he got onstage. “It was different doing it in front of such a big crowd and giving the power of the decision to the voters. We were all nervous wrecks. We were all stressed out, and because of that, people were losing their voices. I was just preparing myself to go out there, and sing like it was the last time I would ever sing in my life. You’re hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.”

Nino is not blaming anyone — not his teammates Timmy Pavino (who was also eliminated) or Leah. “We all did our best,” he says.

Nino isn’t also blaming his coach. In fact, according to him, Coach Lea has been nothing but supportive since Day One of the competition — and if he had a chance to do it all over again, he would still pick the same coach, for the same reasons.

He explains, “(That time I got eliminated), it wasn’t the coach. It was how I sing my song and paano ako tatanggapin ng tao. I definitely felt she was the perfect fit (as a coach). Itong experience na ito, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’ve learned so much from her (Coach Lea) these past six months. She’s really cool, and she’s very hands-on with everyone on her team. The sting (of my being eliminated) was there, yes, pero naintindihan ko ang decision niya. She went with what she thought was the best decision.”

She has assured him of her continued support. After his elimination, after the show ended, Lea went backstage because she had to shoot some footage. Nino was about to leave when Lea — whom he had met face-to-face only once before joining the show, at a fundraising concert organized by their school, OB Montessori (Lea was already singing professionally at the time and had just returned from abroad, while Nino was then in his junior year at OB) — called out to him.

“I turned around, she gave me a big hug, and said something like, ‘This is not the end, you’re just not going to be on this show anymore, but the coaching and mentoring does not end here.’

Nino completely understands and has accepted what the future has in store. “Sure, being eliminated stings, because I put my heart, mind and soul into it for almost a year, but this is where the real career, the real journey begins. And (Coach Lea) has promised me, ‘I’m going to be right there.’ I’m looking forward to that.”

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Casino Filipino (CF) is brewing another exciting surprise for bingo aficionados.

For its upcoming nationwide Bingo Fiesta on March 29, Casino Filipino will give away P6.8M in cash prizes to lucky winners. The bingo event will be simultaneously held at the following CF venues: Malate (host venue), Pavilion, Malabon, Ronquillo, Angeles, Olongapo, Tagaytay, Bacolod, Cebu, Mactan, Iloilo and Davao. Off-site venues will be at Limketkai Mall in Cagayan de Oro City.

To take part in the Bingo Fiesta, a player must buy a ticket worth P1,500. With this amount, the player will get four bingo cards good for 10 games. For Games 1 to 9, up to P500,000 will be given away in each game while P1M will be up for grabs in Game 10.

Apart from the major prizes, a total of P1.3M is also at stake in the local games as each of the participating CF branch will give away an extra P100,000 to one lucky bingo player.

The Bingo Fiesta is a prelude to the Bingo Shower of Millions, where thousands of bingo aficionados gather in various CF venues to have fun and to win millions in cash prizes.

The Bingo Fiesta games will start at 2 p.m. Bingo players are encouraged to buy their tickets before the event since the CF branches will implement a No Ticket, No Entry policy.

For details, call PAGCOR Entertainment and Bingo Department at 523-3678 (loc. 2401 to 2404) and 708-2046 or log on to www.casinofilipino.ph.