What surprised Carla Abellana most about Bea Alonzo

Carla Abellana (left) and Bea Alonzo —CARLA ABELLANA/INSTAGRAM

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Carla Abellana and Bea Alonzo are survivors of heartbreak. That’s why their upcoming drama crime mystery series on GMA 7, “Widows’ War” (WW), which premieres on July 1 at 8:50 p.m., seems apt for the two Kapuso stars.

While neither is a widow, the unbearable pain they had to bear in their personal lives somehow made them mourn as widows do. But even after Bea’s wedding plans with Dominic Roque got thwarted and Carla’s marriage to Tom Rodriguez was short-lived, both women not only survived, they prevailed.

The fiery red lipstick of Carla and Bea in their stunning black-and-white publicity photo for WW says it all. Amid the gloom of a breakup, they still found ways to bloom. When the one who lights up our life is gone, we must learn to glow in the dark.

Here’s my chat with Carla:

What surprised you most about Bea?

How calm, proper, patient, professional and dedicated she is at work. It’s normal for a lead star to get overwhelmed at times due to stress, lack of sleep, the amount of scenes, length of lines, expectations and pressures from management and viewers, but I’ve never observed any of those in her. In fact, she’s even so prepared that we’d often find that she still remembers particular details, even her coactors’ lines, from scenes we’d already done a while back.

How do you manage not to upstage each other?

I believe there’s no need to upstage each other. We’re two unique and separate individuals and, in my personal opinion, she’s on a whole different level. She’s Bea Alonzo!

The tagline of your series goes, “Love Kills.” How can you relate to that?

Being a fan of real-life crime and murder investigations, I have always been fascinated by some people who become capable of killing even the person(s) they love the most. Love makes you do crazy things. It’s dumbfounding, but it’s a known fact. It really happens and it leaves us questioning why and how it happens.

What are you learning from the character you portray?

When an individual is solely focused on what or who he/she loves, it narrows that individual’s understanding and empathy. It may get to the point where that individual is no longer able to put himself/herself in the shoes of others. This applies to loyalty, too. It’s not always good. Loyalty can be bad, even dangerous.

Are you back on the dating scene?

Dating is not something I think much of at the moment. I don’t want to set a timeline on when I should be ready to date again. I’ll just leave it up to God and let things take its own natural course.

What love lesson will you apply if you ever get married again?

Marriage is the least of my concerns right now. I haven’t thought about it much, but we’ll see.

Cliff Hodge (right) with wife Bea —CONTRIBUTED photo

Meralco Bolts’ Cliff Hodge is star material

There’s a thin line between show biz and the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association).

PBA legends like Benjie Paras, Atoy Co and Joey Marquez are all cagers-turned-actors. Like them, Cliff Hodge of the Meralco Bolts (MB) is definitely star material. He could pass for a Korean oppa.

Cliff’s team made history at the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup when MB clinched its very first championship by beating the defending champs, San Miguel Beermen (SMB). Game commentators refer to Cliff as a buwis-buhay type of player. He gives his 100 percent until the game is over. Just like what his name connotes, it’s as if Hodge is always on the edge of a cliff, ready to soar.

Here’s my chat with Cliff:

Do you think that MB’s victory would put an end to the usual PBA series dominated by only three teams?

Our victory is great for the PBA. It’s a breath of fresh air for the fans. No one really gave us a chance going against the mighty SMB, but my teammates and I believed in one another. To see our team go through so much hardship and continue to push ourselves and finally achieve our goal is something special to witness. I hope we can continue our journey together through even more ups and downs because the journey together is what really matters, not a trophy.

What was the toughest part of beating SMB?

They’re built so well, surrounded by the “goat” in Junemar Fajardo. They have championship experience, a great coaching staff, and almost swept the entire elimination round, with 15 guys who can be stars on individual teams.

The toughest part was staying locked in the whole series. It takes a ton of focus to follow gameplans and stay in the moment while chaos is happening everywhere. And we got the job done.

Would you be open to join show biz after PBA?

I wouldn’t turn it down if an offer came along. I am always looking for new opportunities. It would be pretty fun to show my wacky, outgoing side and not just the crazy, scary guy on the court.