Sports stars tweet support for Miss Philippines

You made us proud, Janine Tugonon.

That, in a nutshell, was how local sports personalities thought of Tugonon’s first-runner up finish in the Miss Universe 2012 coronation night Wednesday night (Thursday morning, PH time) at the  Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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A proud native of Bataan, Tugonon, 23, was the only Asian candidate to crash into the Top 10, but unfortunately she got upstaged by Miss USA Olivia Culpo.

Nevertheless, Tugonon clearly gave a good account of herself, notably in the question-and-answer portion, leaving the Filipinos with to hold their heads up high.

Fellow Thomasian and ace Growling Tiger Jeric Teng, using his official Twitter account ‏@jericteng16, summed it best, saying:

Ateneo star Kiefer Ravena (‏@kieferravena) also showered praises on Tugonon, stating:

Smart-Gilas 2.0 head coach Chot Reyes ‏(@coachot), meanwhile, insisted the PH bet deserved to win the prestigious title.

Philippine national football team defender Jason Sabio ‏(@Jsabio3) echoed Reyes’ observation, stressing:

A few minutes later, Sabio expressed his disappointment over Tugonon's loss:

Fellow footballer Aly Borromeo (@alybor11) tweeted:

Suspended PBA cager Don Allado also tweeted his congratulations:

Despite falling short of the crown, Tugonon’s feat–besting Shamcey Supsup’s second-runner up finish last year and Venus Raj’s third-runner up placing in 2010–somehow gives her compatriots an early Christmas gift.