"bT3" grand finals

When the lights went out and the “bT3” video rolled to the strains of “Eye of the Tiger”, shrieks came from all corners. And when dancers darted from the wings and cart-wheeled to the center stage amidst swirls of fog, bubbles and strobe lights, the SRO crowd went wild with excitement!

And thus began the grand finals of “bT3” on 8 December 2011 at 9:00 PM at Tago Gym.



“bT3” had come a long way. What started as a seemingly far-fetched idea became a resounding success as more and more Tagon-ons came out of the woodwork to have their talents known! Since its maiden show on 1 October 2011, “bT3” had done a total of eight cycles, producing 56 auditionees. Of these, 48 got to perform but only 26 got through the semi-finals. Of the 26 semi-finalists, only 12 made the cut to the grand finals and had their moments of glory.




“bT3” is a talent show, and because talent is known to straddle a wide spectrum, the organizers, just for the grand finals, had formulated a generic set of criteria that included Overall Performance (50%), Audience Response (20%) and Entertainment Value (30%). This set of criteria became the tool by which the grand prize winner was picked. And that night the herculean task of playing God rested on the hands of the following jurors: Daisy Luna, Marcelinita Pareja, Maria Isabel Dolon-Insame, Ronaldo Paderes, and Ramonito Tan.

The competition was fierce and the talents presented were diverse: four sang, six danced, one did a stand-up comedy act, and another mixed lip synchronization with acting and fire dance. In the end, the jurors were unanimous in awarding Raffy Lastimoso of Purok Tambis the grand prize because of his unique and incomparable “krumping”, a form of dancing that originated in the Afro-American community that is expressive and highly energetic. The Virus Crew, composed of agile, graceful, and good looking youngsters from Dayoan won second while Vange Quico of Cagdapao won third with his effortless handling of a stand-up comedy act that made fun of gays and game shows.

“If this is not world-class entertainment, I don’t know what is,” Mayor Henrich M. Pimentel said in his speech. He must have been very impressed with the quality of the performances and the way the show was handled that he announced he would increase the “bT3” budget next year from P50,000 to P100,000! The crowd roared with appreciation!





The “bT3” grand finals handed out the following prizes: P5,000.00 for the 2nd Runner Up; P6,000.00 for the 1st Runner Up; and P7,500.00 for the Grand Prize Winner. The winners also received trophies. The non-winners got P1,000 each as consolation prize. All these cash bonanzas were made possible by financially talented Tagon-ons who shared their resources and love, namely: Hon. Henrich M. Pimentel and Tago LGU (P50,000); Ms. Sherlita Montero-Sumalpong of Guam (P30,000); Mr. Jonathan Portillo of Dubai (P5,000); Atty. Roberto P. Lozada (P3,000); Brother and sister Sherwin and Felisa Portillo (P1,000); and Ms. Judy Ann Cag-ong Gonzales of Saudi Arabia (P1,300). Another set of sponsors provided snacks to contestants, jurors, and members of the Dream Team throughout the first season of "bT3", thus: Dr. Laiden Elizalde-Oliguiber, Emily Patrimonio, Steve and Angely Yu, Dr. Gemma Young-Ardines, Milagros Paqueo, Mary Grace Elizalde and TT and Company.

“bT3” would have remained on the drawing board if not for the people who gave their unconditional support by doing what was expected of them even if it meant working behind the scene, beyond the spotlight’s glare. As members of the “bT3” Dream Team, the following people had done much, thus: Maria Elena Dolon-Pimentel, Emily Patrimonio, Nicolas Laurente, Belen Laurente, Christian Castillo, Vincent Namalata, Florephi Dagaang, Maria Isabel Dolon-Insame, Peter Espinola, Rollie Suazo, Jose Olvida, Olympia Escalante, Francisca Suazo, Dulce Jasmin, and Erwin Besina.



Hosted by Romel M. Oribe, “bT3” was organized by the Local Government Unit of Tago headed by Hon. Henrich M. Pimentel, the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation of Tago chaired by Hon. Nnekka Marie P. Laurente, and I-Love-Tago Movement.