‘Get that crown!’ Miss Singapore, Miss Vietnam root for ASEAN ‘bestie’ Beatrice Gomez at Miss Universe

Aside from pageant-crazed Filipinos who trooped to the Universe Dome, at least two other candidates joined in cheering for the Philippines’ Beatrice Gomez at the Israel venue as she advanced in the Miss Universe competition on Monday (Manila time).

Gomez settled for a top-five finish in the pageant, extending her home country’s semifinals streak to a 12th year.

Throughout the coronation night, Gomez enjoyed loud cheers from Filipinos in the audience — plus Singapore’s Nandita Banna and Vietnam’s Nguyen Huynh Kim Duyen.

In an Instagram Stories update while the competition was ongoing, Banna shared a selfie video with Nguyen expressing support for Gomez.

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“Philippines, get the crown! Try your best! If you don’t get the crown, I will kill you,” Nguyen joked, laughing. “Love you so much!”

“Bestie, we love you!” Banna said both in the video and her caption.

Nguyen re-posted the video in her Stories, tagging Gomez’s account and writing: “We love you! Get the crown, queen!”

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Banna and Nguyen, whose respective home countries happen to be ASEAN neighbors of the Philippines, made it to the top 16, but failed to advance further.

Gomez moved forward twice thereafter — as a top-10 candidate, and then a top-five finalist. It’s unclear whether her “besties” took the selfie video shortly after the top-10 or top-five cut.

Leading up to the coronation night, Gomez and her Southeast Asian sisters appeared to form close friendships, going by their updates on social media.

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A post shared by nandita 🌿 నందితా (@nxndita)

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A post shared by Nguyen Huynh Kim Duyen (@kimduyen.nguyenhuynh)

Gomez and Banna arrived together in Israel in late November, and then became roommates. Last week, Nguyen devoted an Instagram post to Gomez, whom she described as “beautiful, friendly, and kind.”

The trio also once hosted a nearly hour-long Instagram live session from their bedroom, where they shared Vietnamese food courtesy of Nguyen, and answered pageant fans’ questions, including their impressions of fellow candidates.

India’s Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned Miss Universe 2021, succeeding Mexico’s Andrea Meza.

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