Steven Silva and Sarah Lahbati are Starstruck V's Ultimate Survivors

CEBU, Philippines - They dreamed, believed, and survived.

Steven Silva, 23, of Davao City and Sarah Lahbati, 16, of Cavite were named StarStruck V's Ultimate Male and Female Survivors, respectively, during the Final Judgment of GMA-7's reality-based artista search held Sunday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Ending up as runners-up to Silva were Enzo Pineda and Rocco Nacino, who were declared First and Second Princes, respectively. Sarah's lone challenger for the female title, Diva Montelaba of Minglanilla, Cebu, became First Princess.

Steven and Sarah won the titles for getting the highest combined text and online votes from the viewers as well as scores from the StarStruck Council, composed of Lolit Solis, Iza Calzado, and Floy Quintos.

Sarah scored the highest average at 94.6 percent, while Steven had 93.5 percent. Diva got 91.4 percent, Enzo got 90.2 percent, while Rocco averaged at 88.3 percent.

Steven and Sarah each went home with a P1.5 million cash prize and an exclusive contract with GMA Network, with a minimum guarantee of P3.5 million.

For Enzo, Rocco, and Diva, a P250,000 cash prize will be given to them as well as exclusive contracts with the Kapuso Network.

The rest of the Avengers, or the nine previous StarStruck contenders who didn't make it to the Final 5, were also given GMA contracts.

It was a surprising finish for Steven who was struggling in the early stages of the contest. Because he largely grew up abroad, he was often critiqued for his difficulty in speaking Filipino. But as they say, there’s strength in numbers, as Steven, who is of Filipino-Chinese-Portuguese lineage and whose appeal was his singing voice, was carried all the way to the finals by his solid fanbase. The accumulated viewers' votes of the six remaining finalists in the first 9 weeks showed that Steven's votes were way higher than any contender.

Sarah, on one hand, earned the highest average score from the StarStruck Council in the first 9 weeks of the competition, even as she was overtaken in text votes by Diva. In fact, she had the second lowest accumulated votes from the viewers. However, it was the fresh, and leading lady material-beauty of this Filipino-Swiss-Morroccan that won over the StarStruck Council and viewers combined in the final count.

The Final Judgment Night also proved to be a star-studded affair, as the brightest among the Kapuso Network’s stable of talents lent support to the show. Dingdong Dantes, Dennis Trillo, Carla Abellana, Raymond Gutierrez, and Nancy Castiliogne alternately hosted the finals night, while Marian Rivera solidified her reputation as the prized star of the network after sending the Araneta crowd wild with her “Sabay Tayo” dance number.

Several past winners of StarStruck since it started six years ago, led by the very first ultimate survivors Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras, shared the stage with the Final 5 with a medley of song numbers.

The entire Araneta Coliseum was bursting with energy as fans cooked up various gimmicks to cheer on their bet, from wearing their bet’s color to bringing in drum and bugle bands.

For their special numbers, the male contenders went for the signature song-and-dance. The female contenders’ presentations, on the other hand, emerged like a study of contrasts as Diva danced her heart out to a sizzling Lady Gaga number, while Sarah made sure she showcased her vocals at the end of her StarStruck stint with her version of sentimental pop hits.

Diva, Cebu's bet, and the first-ever Cebuana to ever reach this far in StarStruck history, told The Freeman in a post-event interview that while she has no idea what made her not win the title, she believes it was Sarah's time, and not hers, to be declared as Ultimate Female Survivor. She is also particularly happy for Silva, whose win also spelled a triumph for her, being a fellow regional contender. 

The biggest StarStruck edition culminated with RnB singers of GMA-7 Jay-R and Kyla rendering an emotional serenade that provided a last look at the Final 5 before the formal declaration of the winners. —NMT