Maxine Medina Preps For Miss Universe: Ready For Back-To-Back Win

The Philippines’ bet for the upcoming Miss Universe 2017, Maxine Medina is busy preparing for the beauty pageant. The pageant is being held in Manila on January 30, at the SMX Convention Center. With only a few weeks left before coronation night, Maxine declared during a pre-pageant press event that she is ready, promising a “back-to-back” victory for the country.

Preparing Hard, Working on “Problem Areas”

After winning the Binibining Pilipinas Miss Universe crown April last year, Maxine shared that she immediately started intensive training, especially focusing on what she admitted as her “problem areas,” according to a report in the Inquirer.

She thanked her trainers from Dale Carnegie and John Robert Powers, who according to her helped with “boosting her confidence” and “honing her communication skills.”

She also added, “I’m ready, I worked hard to make Filipinos proud.” Maxine is hoping for another win, to follow Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach’s Miss Universe win last year.

Fellow Binibinis Say “She Has Improved A Lot”

In another report in ABS-CBN, fellow Binibinis have noted that Maxine has indeed “improved a lot.” Miss International 2016 Kylie Versoza said in an interview: “She has improved so much, you can all see that. I know she knows it herself, that she has improved a lot.” She also had a few reminders for Maxine: “I don’t want her to see an option for failure… If she keeps her goal in mind, if her focus is just really there, then it’s a very possible win.”

During an interview with Boy Abunda last January 6, Maxine also revealed that she is at a point in time where she believes in herself. She also called on the Filipino people to believe in her as well as she represents the country.

After the Boy Abunda interview however, netizen and Twitter user Mica Abesamis tweeted what most people perceived as another criticism to Maxine’s interview abilities. She recalled a part of the interview in her Twitter post, with Boy Abunda asking “Should a woman pay on a first date?” and Maxine responding: “Of course, no!” Abesamis added the following comment after: “Girl uwi na talo agad sa Miss Universe.”

Boy Abunda: Should a woman pay on the first date?

Maxine Medina: Of course no!

GIRL UWI NA TALO NA AGAD SA MISS UNIVERSE

— Mica Abesamis (@marieabesamis) January 6, 2017

Judging by other netizens’ reaction to the tweet (10k plus likes and 2k plus re-tweets), Maxine may be right in calling for more support for her as she competes.