MANILA, Philippines — Filipino bet Louie Sangalang is the last man standing among the five contestants left in "The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition".
The lone male with four other female competitors, most of whom are Westerners, Sangalang faces a lot of pressure as he strives to win it all and become ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong's, who has an estimated net worth of USD 350 million, protege with a $250,000 contract with the Singapore promotion.
But the 43-year-old is no stranger to difficult challenges in his life, as he has faced a number of speed bumps in his journey -- which included a battle with appendiceal cancer.
Having survived those trials, and as a fomer student of martial arts, Sangalang has no problem attempting to conquer "The Apprentice".
"In my life, ang daming frustrations, ang daming failures na nangyari sa buhay. Instead of blaming the world for the things I didn't get, I started flipping it around," said Sangalang.
"I can only do things that I can manage... All of these failures, all of these experiences, especially yung mga sobrang samang nangyari sa akin, have prepared me and have really made me so resillient to the point na parang nothing can really hurt me," he added.
The resilience of Sangalang didn't take long to show up in his stint at The Apprentice, becoming project manager twice with Team Valor and emerging victorious in their challenges both times.
Though he remains one of only two contestants who have yet to lead their team to a loss as project manager, Sangalang admits it is no walk in the park.
"This experience with The Apprentice is not a smooth one... Napaka-grateful ko for this experience and for all the people who have been very supportive of me from the very start," Sangalang said.
Sangalang, a North Pole Marathon finisher and a procurement consultant by profession, stands strong in his bid to win it all and take the win for the Philippines.
This after his compatriot and fellow contestant Lara Alvarez was eliminated early and got fired in the third week of the contest.
The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition is currently aired in the Philippines every Thursday on AXN at 8:50 p.m. and on Mondays on One Sport at 9 p.m.