Strongman Ray Querubin shared his thoughts on social media on Team Philippines' performance in Physical: Asia.
[WARNING: Spoilers ahead]
Team Philippines saw its inspiring run in Physical: Asia come to an end in Episode 7 of the now-viral Netflix show, nipped by South Korea in the sack throw death match that pitted the Filipinos against the home team in a dramatic finish.
After a heroic try from Justin Hernandez, Team Philippines just couldn’t get over the hump and became the third team to exit the competition after Indonesia and Thailand.
Despite their short stint, there were a lot of memorable moments for the Philippines, which also featured strongman Ray Querubin, Mark “Mugen” Striegl, Lara Liwanag, Robyn Brown, Justin Coveney, and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.
[READ: Team Philippines crashes out of Physical: Asia in dramatic battle vs home bets South Korea]
Querubin was among the first of the team to share his thoughts on the whole journey on social media.
“It’s a great honor to represent our country in Netflix: Physical Asia. We’ve learned a lot during this competition, understanding our strengths and weaknesses while building a strong team,” he wrote.
Being well-decorated as a strongman, he still struggled with some of the challenges. But at the end of it, Team Philippines strived to conquer their hurdles — which included a dramatic death match against Thailand where Liwanag and Brown kept Team Philippines alive.
Another challenge came when captain Pacquiao had to leave the show midway to attend to business back in the Philippines.
Coveney was the one to fill in his role as skipper while alternate Hernandez, a crossfit athlete, was inserted into the lineup.
Mixed experience
With all the ups and downs, Querubin acknowledged that the whole ordeal was a mixed bag of success and failures.
But at the end of the day, he and the rest of Team Philippines had a lot to take away from the experience.
“We have witnessed blood, tears, pain, and success. The real power of a team isn’t in muscles — it’s in unity,” he said.
In the latest batch of episodes, Turkiye was also eliminated along side the Philippines. Four teams remain in the hunt until the last batch of episodes release on November 18 — Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, and Australia.
The end of Episode 9 saw three teams on the chopping block: Australia, South Korea, and Mongolia.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.