Arzen Rose Dulzura

“PBB Celebrity Collab” challenges housemates with back-to-back tasks of intellect and heart!

Article (news)

Liezel Dela Cruz

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748234459612Thumb (4).jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>Things inside the &quot;<a href="http://pbb.abs-cbn.com"><strong><u>Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition</u></strong></a>&quot; house turned intense over the past week as housemates went through back-to-back challenges that tested not just their intellect, but also their emotional strength and loyalty to each other, as they inch closer to forming their final duos. Netizens can&#x27;t help but compare the tasks to a high-stakes elimination-style challenge where players must outlast each other in a battle of survival and heart—think &quot;Squid Game&quot; and &quot;The Hunger Games.&quot;  </p><p>One of the week&#x27;s biggest highlights was the official return of wildcard winners Ralph de Leon and Charlie Fleming, who finally revealed themselves to the female housemates after spending a full week in hiding inside the boys’ room. As part of a secret task, the male housemates were previously instructed to keep Ralph and Charlie’s presence hidden from the girls, with each of the wildcard&#x27;s identity representing 50% of the weekly house budget. While the female housemates, during their conversation with Kuya in the Confession Room, were able to correctly guess that Charlie was in the house—resulting in an automatic deduction of half the budget—they failed to identify Ralph, which meant they still managed to win 50% of their weekly allowance.</p><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w0Di8wTg7io" title="Day 77: Ralph at Charlie, nagpakita na sa girl housemates | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Excitement swept through Bahay Ni Kuya as soon as Ralph and Charlie revealed themselves to the rest of the housemates. But all eyes turned to AZ Martinez, who was noticeably speechless after seeing Ralph again. And their unexpected reunion sent waves of kilig across social media, as viewers couldn’t help but react to the pair&#x27;s chemistry and the surprise and happiness written all over AZ’s face.</p><p>With that reveal, Ralph and Charlie were officially back in the game, just in time to participate in the series of Big Intensity tasks, which kicked off with a battle of brains. In this challenge, housemates had to race against the clock to answer six Filipino-language questions, each sealed in a separate envelope. After reading a question, they needed to figure out the correct answer, then flip a cube using a spatula to display the first letter of that answer on top. They could only move on to the next envelope once Big Brother approved both the answer and the letter on the cube. The fastest housemate from Star Magic and Sparkle to complete all six correctly would be awarded the first set of Final Duo Medals, along with immunity from the fifth nomination round.</p><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9-0KMZkSd0o" title="Day 76: Mga Kapamilya, hinarap ang Big Intensity Challenge | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>The questions ranged from general knowledge to logic, including prompts like the first letter of the so-called “King of the Jungle,” the first letter of the item believed to have been hidden by General Yamashita, the result of “nine times four,” and the first letter of the opposite of West.</p><p>In the Kapamilya bracket, Ralph returned strong, completing the challenge in just 4 minutes and 43 seconds, followed closely by Xyriel Manabat who clocked in at 6:09, Brent Manalo at 6:12, Klarisse de Guzman at 6:31, and Esnyr at 8:48. Bianca de Vera and River Jospeh, however, did not finish the task. </p><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_wW4mNJJcfo" title="Day 76: Bianca at River, bigong matapos ang Intensity task | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>On the Kapuso side, Shuvee Etrata led the pack with a winning time of 6:05, while Will Ashley followed at 11:00, Dustin Yu at 14:20, Mika Salamanca at 20:46, and Vince Maristela at 29:40. AZ and Charlie both opted not to complete the challenge. </p><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9nopVValrKo" title="Day 76: Charlie at AZ, sumuko sa Big Intensity Challenge | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>With Ralph and Shuvee emerging as the fastest from their respective groups, both secured the first set of Final Duo Medals, granting them the power to choose their final teammates later on, along with full immunity from the fifth nomination. </p><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8B6HVryTBME" title="Day 76: Shuvee and Ralph win the final duo medals! | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>While the test of intellect proved entertaining (viewers even created memes out of the funniest answers that came out of the challenge), nobody expected that the next part of the Big Intensity Task would take an emotional turn, with a balloon-popping game that broke everyone&#x27;s hearts. </p><p>Here, each housemate began with a board carrying 10 balloons. To increase their count, they were given three chances to roll a ball across a platform, hoping to land it in slots that could grant up to three extra balloons. Using the same ball-rolling method, housemates had to aim for numbered targets that would determine how many balloons they could pop from another player’s board. The higher the number they landed on, the more balloons they could take away from someone else. The battle continued until only one housemate was left with at least one balloon remaining.</p><p>While the mechanics seemed simple, the emotional struggle was anything but, since all other housemates who would fail to make it to the end would be automatically nominated. As the game progressed, the challenge felt like a test of conscience, as housemates were forced to decide, face-to-face, whose dreams would be pushed further out of reach. At first, some housemates even tried to miss their shots on purpose, hoping to spare their friends, until Big Brother reminded them to play the game as intended.</p><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O6Znsab0YKU" title="Day 78: Mga Kapamilya, sinadya ang pagmintis sa Intensity task | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l0G1njue05w" title="Day 78: Mga Kapuso, nahirapan sa plot twist ng Intensity task | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>From there, the emotional weight truly sank in, and some of them started volunteering their own balloons to be popped, just to save their friends from the pain of having to choose.</p><p>In the Star Magic group, Bianca was the first to be nominated, and she accepted her fate with grace, even telling Brent at one point to just go ahead and pop the last balloon on her board. Esnyr, who had to pop Klarisse’s final balloon, was deeply affected by the act, as it felt like taking her one step further from her dream of becoming Big Winner. River, true to his &#x27;green flag&#x27; personality, stayed in his role as Xyriel&#x27;s &#x27;Kuya&#x27; until the end, urging their co-housemates to target his balloons instead of hers.</p><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VujybRFQT6A" title="Day 78: Bianca, unang Kapamilya na naging nominado | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Over in the Kapuso side, viewers were just as sad watching the emotional exchanges. Charlie, who had just re-entered the house, asked Mika to pop her balloon, saying it would be fair enough since the others had been there longer. In return, Mika tried to offer the same back to Charlie, suggesting they could simply take one balloon from each other. Vince also showcased his soft heart as he volunteered to take the hit when he saw Will struggling with having to choose, telling him, “Ako na, pare,” to ease the burden on his friend’s shoulders.</p><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tXoGF2NSOEc" title="Day 78: Vince, unang napabilang sa mga nominado | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>In the end, the last Star Magic housemate and the last Sparkle housemate left with balloons on their boards, Esnyr and AZ, respectively, were declared winners of the challenge. They each earned the last pair of Final Duo Medals, along with immunity from the fifth nomination round. All other housemates who failed to make it to the end were automatically nominated.</p><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5GgF3G9dUj0" title="Day 78: Esnyr, nakuha ang final duo medal sa 2nd Intensity task | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S6KML8Ebglk" title="Day 78: AZ, nakuha ang final duo medal sa 2nd Intensity task | PBB Collab" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>With ten housemates up for nomination this week—Klarisse, River, Xyriel, Brent, and Bianca from Star Magic, and Dustin, Will, Vince, Mika, and Charlie from Sparkle—it’s now in the hands of the viewers to decide who stays. For the first time this season, voting will be done individually through the Maya app, and after a week of casting votes, one Kapamilya and one Kapuso housemate with the lowest number of votes will be officially evicted from Bahay Ni Kuya.</p><p>Catch &quot;<a href="http://pbb.abs-cbn.com"><strong><u>PBB Celebrity Collab Edition</u></strong></a>,&quot; airing weeknights at 10:00 p.m. and on weekends at 6:15 p.m. via GMA Network. Viewers can also watch it online via live streams on Pinoy Big Brother’s YouTube channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), and iWantTFC.</p>

<p>"PBB Celebrity Collab" pushes housemates to make painful choices in a heartbreaking balloon battle.</p>

"PBB Celebrity Collab" pushes housemates to make painful choices in a heartbreaking balloon battle.