By CARLO ANOLIN
Filipina bet Lara Pearl Alvarez was the latest contender to be eliminated in ONE Championship’s edition of “The Apprentice.”
Alvarez opened the third episode with an optimistic mindset after switching from Team Conquest to Team Valor.
Being on the favorable squad, however, didn’t guarantee a victory for Alvarez as the freelance tax accountant was cited for having “too limited of a skillset for this competition.”
Though her determination and desire to win were given a nod by her teammates, working as a team was also key to winning their task.
“[Lara] did try to contribute as much as possible and she did do a very good job presenting the information about entrepreneurs, but again, I think her skillset was so limited that it was hard to fit her into specific roles in terms of what I was doing, which was production and post-production,” said Team Valor’s Teirra Kamolvattanavith, a Thai journalist.
ONE Championship CEO and founder Chatri Sityodtong pointed out that Alvarez should have stayed with Team Valor while they were working on the presentation until 2 a.m. in the morning.
Niharika Singh, the show’s resident advisor and Sityodtong’s right-hand woman, echoed the ONE honcho’s sentiments and said Alvarez “did not stand up for a big enough role.”
“If you see your teammates working up to two in the morning and they’re still grinding it out, I would actually step up. There are no dreams that come true without obsession and hard work,” said Sityodtong.
Before the deliberation, Team Conquest’s Eugene Chung and Team Valor’s Clinton Tudor were put in hot water anew after their respective teammates aired their sentiments on the recent challenges.
Alvarez was booted out eventually while Tudor and Sho Takei of Team Valor survived the chopping block.
An emotional Alvarez exited the boardroom, believing that Tudor deserved to be eliminated in that round, citing her observation that “Clinton just [doesn’t] know how to work with other people.”
“There is still a lot that I could give for this competition, but I’m still grateful because I was able to gain the experience of working with people from different nationalities,” the 25-year-old Alvarez said.
Meanwhile, compatriot Louie Sangalang isn’t done with his mission yet after leading the swimming part of their scavenger hunt physical task earlier.
Sangalang, a former project of Team Valor, hopes to bounce back from their first loss in the business challenge.
