Pamela Bianca Manalo, the Philippines’ bet to the 2009 Miss Universe pageant, wowed critics in the preliminaries of the most prestigious beauty contest in the world being held in the Bahamas.

Manalo, 22, scored high on critics’ list in both swimsuit and evening gown competitions.

“She owned the swimsuit competition,’’ a pageant historian from the Dominican Republic said.

In the Nassau Guardian, one of the popular newspapers in the Bahamas, Manalo was featured in a spread along with seven other bets from India, Cayman Island, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Australia, Bahamas and Belgium who made good impressions in the swimsuit round.

But in the newspaper’s online version, only five of them were singled out, including Manalo.

Crowds cheered for Manalo during the preliminaries, an important event where the 84 candidates battle it out for the Top 15 semifinals slots, which will be announced during the grand coronation night Sunday (Monday morning in the Philippines).

In an exclusive story by the missosology.org entitled “2009 Miss Universe Preliminaries’’, Miss Philippines continued to reap positive reviews.

“Miss Indonesia embodied rhythm, charisma, and appeal in both segments. On the other hand, Miss China was one of the most applauded during her evening gown presentation. Miss Philippines was among the candidates that roused great applause from the Bahamian audience (besides the usual Filipino supporters).

“During her swimsuit presentation, she looked like a porcelain doll. Many people think that these three ladies might make it in the semifinals. Other very strong Asian contestants are Miss India Ekta Chowdhry, Miss Vietnam Vo Hoang Yen and Miss Guam Racine Manley,’’ the article said.

Manalo, who stands 5’10’’ and measures 36-1/2-26-36, has been a crowd favorite since she arrived in the Bahamas.

An Advertising graduate from Assumption College, Manalo comes from a family of beauty queens. The former flight attendant is the sister of Katherine Manalo-Hernandez, one of the 10 semifinalists in the 2002 Miss World contest. An aunt represented the Philippines in the Miss International
beauty pageant.

During the 2009 Bb. Pilipinas pageant, Manalo won several special awards, including Best in Swimsuit and the Manila Bulletin Readers’ Choice Award.

Local beauty experts were also invited to vote for Manalo for the Miss Photogenic and People’s Choice special awards, both of which will be announced during the finals.

If she wins the contest, Manalo will be the third Miss Universe from the Philippines. The two winners were Gloria Diaz (1969) and Margie Moran (1973).