Warning: spoilers abound!
Team Philippines may not have made it to the finals of Physical: Asia, but they did leave the competition with some of the season’s most memorable moments of physical strength.
Physical: Asia, the first spin-off on the popular South Korean competition series Physical: 100, pits 48 athletes against each other in a series of quests or challenges, testing their raw strength and endurance to take home the grand prize of 1 billion Korean won (roughly P40,500,000).
Team Philippines’s members were all highly trained players from a variety of athletic backgrounds. Initially led by Manny Pacquiao, the team was composed of rugby player Justin Coveney, strongman Ray Querubin, Olympic-level hurdler Robyn Lauren Brown, and CrossFit athlete Lara Liwanag. Pacquiao eventually left the series in Episode 5 due to “other obligations,” and was replaced by CrossFit athlete Justin Hernandez while Coveney took on the role as team leader.
As fans continue to reel from the team’s loss, it’s worth remembering just how much Team Philippines accomplished across seven episodes. Ranked from their most challenging performances to their strongest displays of strength as a team, here’s a look back on Team Philippines’ time on Physical: Asia.
7. Sack Toss
Episodes 6 and 7
The rules of the Sack Toss challenge are deceptively simple: three contestants must take turns tossing a 14-kg sack over a high archway in 30 seconds. If anyone fails to successfully toss the sack over the arch and the time ends on their turn, they — and their team — are immediately eliminated.
The problem with the Sack Toss is that the time limit gets shorter and the sack heavier, making it a game of stamina. Team Philippines’ newcomer Justin Hernandez was up against Team Australia’s strongman Eddie Williams and Team Korea’s Amotti (and Physical: 100 Season 2 winner). Hernandez gave it his all, but after 120 laps of sack-tossing — and with Williams’ long throws cutting into his time — the CrossFit athlete finally stumbled twice in a row and sealed the team’s departure from the show.
“I actually don’t have any regrets because I know that I did my best,” said Hernandez during his confessional. “But what was really hard for me to handle was letting down my team.”
6. Pillar Vaulting
Episode 6
Team Philippines trailed behind Team Australia and Team Korea, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
The Pillar Vaulting challenge requires two players per team must each relay 10 laps over a horizontally-placed pillar/hurdle. It’s essentially parkour (which Team Australia used to their advantage by sending in parkour athlete, Dom Tomato), but Team Philippines initially looked like it had a chance when it sent in Robyn Lauren Brown (who’s won gold for dominating 400-meter hurdles) and CrossFit athlete Lara Liwanag.
Liwanag noted during her confessional that she struggled with jumping over the hurdle due to her height, but remained consistent before passing to Brown. Unfortunately, the other teams’ players proved quicker at finishing their relays, and Tomato took the win for Team Australia.
5. Stone Totem Endurance
Episode 6
We were so close! But alas, such is the case with most of the challenges on this list. The Stone Totem Endurance challenge saw two players from each country stand back-to-back with each other and hold up — you guessed it — two giant totems that each weigh 135 kilograms.
Team Philippines sent in leader Justin Coveney and Ray Querubin, both of whom seemed like the obvious choices for the game. Coveney, as a rugby player, has the endurance needed to hold up the poles, while Querubin is the team’s strongman (and is a three-time winner of the Philippines’ Strongman Champion title). But after several minutes into the game, Coveney’s left hand began to slip, and Querubin couldn’t compensate in time for the shift in weight. Team Philippines was the first to drop the stone totems, paving the way for Team Australia to take first place and Team Korea to place second.
4. Shipwreck Salvage
Episode 3
This was arguably one of the most dramatic quests of the season, mainly because it took place in a giant shipwreck. To win the Shipwreck Salvage, two teams are pitted against each other and tasked with transporting as much as they can in weighted crates and bags from one side of the shipwreck to another. Players must use a zipline to move the crates, while the bags can only be transported via pushcarts. Teams are given 20 minutes to complete the quest.
Team Philippines went up against Team Mongolia and initially showed impressive teamwork. Brown was flying by on the zipline, while Pacquiao, Mark “Mugen” Striegl, and Coveney took turns moving the bags. However, Querubin began to show visible fatigue and took multiple moments to rest. Liwanag saw that he was struggling and put him on bag duty instead, but it was clear that Team Philippines was slowing down. By the end of the 20 minutes, the team had moved 1290 kg, while Team Mongolia had moved 2000 kg, clinching them the win.
3. Hanging Endurance
Episode 6
Mark “Mugen” Striegl, Team Philippines’ mixed martial fighter and sambist, was an absolute endurance god in this challenge. It is not easy to hang by your hands and feet by strips of ribbons, and it is even less easy to do this while trying to outlast two other athletes. What’s more, if the game goes on long enough, players must remove one hand while still keeping themselves in the air.
But that is what Mugen did, and he did so without looking like he was breaking a sweat. While Team Australia’s Alexandra Milne and Team Korea’s Choi Seung-yeon shook and fell onto the ground below, Mugen just closed his eyes and held on, bringing Team Philippines the win.
2. Death Match: Ball Possession
Episodes 4 and 5
Team Philippines needed to redeem themselves after the Shipwreck Salvage (where they ranked dead last), and they definitely got the chance in the show’s first Death Match.
Team Philippines faced off against Team Thailand, sending in players for multiple rounds to compete in either one-on-one combat or two-on-two. The goal of the challenge is to run as fast as you can to the pond in the middle of the sand pit, grab the ball placed there, and shoot it into your opponent’s hoop (or get it as close as you can to your opponent’s side of the pit). Each round lasts for three minutes, but can result in a one-minute rematch in the event of a tie.
Mugen went into the ring first, holding down Team Thailand’s Sunny Kerdkao Wechokittikorn long enough for the game to end in Team Philippines’ favor. Pacquiao and Querubin turned into an unstoppable unit as they pulled Team Thailand leader Suppachai “Superbon” Muensang and boxer James Rusameekae under the pond’s water, although this wasn’t enough to stop Team Thailand from scoring a point. Coveney kept the ball from Anucha Yospanya, leading to a tie and rematch that ended with a win for Team Philippines.
But the real heroes of the challenge were Brown and Liwanag, who were locked in a tense fight with Jar Uracha Teerawanitsan and Ploy Nuannaree Olsen. Props to Liwanag for dragging one of the Thai players’ legs towards the goal, securing Team Philippines’ victory.
1. Territorial Conquest
Episode 2
The Jeepney Blitz, a tactic coined by Coveney, may go down in Philippine history as one of the proudest — and most Pinoy — displays of teamwork. The Territory Conquest, set in a large, desert-style arena, had teams competing across three rounds to capture different platforms throughout the arena. Players must use their brute force to push rivals out of platforms and to hold their place against incoming opponents, all while the number of platforms grows smaller and smaller per round (from four to two to one).
The entire challenge was a frenzy of sweat, sand, and a throng of bodies slapping against each other in the hopes of taking hold of a platform. But amidst all this, Team Philippines shone with its Jeepney Blitz, a strategy that saw the players form a human battering ram to rush their opponents.
“Let’s keep it Filipino,” said Coveney as he explained his tactic to the team. Coveney and Querubin stayed close up front to act as the first line of defense, Pacquiao and Mugen manned the rear, and Brown and Liwanag brought up the rear. While it wasn’t enough to win the challenge for Team Philippines, the Jeepney Blitz did do a number on multiple players. It eventually led to an alliance between Team Philippines and Team Mongolia, both of which formed a “joint jeepney” for the second overtime round.
