Migs Bustos shooting for a Thai star

MANILA, Philippines - “I like Thai entertainment. I have the biggest crushes on Thai actresses!” reveals the new bachelor anchor of ANC’s Gametime Migs Bustos as one big fact the public does not know about him.

“Migs has the face of an actor,” identified ABS-CBN PR manager Aaron Domingo when I pointed out to him that he deftly parried the feedback that Gametime reports mostly about hoops.

The baby-faced and fairer version of Paulo Bediones who at 28 anchors the 30-minute sportscast airing weekdays at 9:30 p.m., Gametime features a menu of off-the-scoreboard game recaps, incisive interviews of scorers and other involving segments.

While he positively accepted the fact, which to him mirrors the target viewers profile, he did counter the previous night’s edition, which is the smart way of doing it. Why focus on stuff that only a minority demands which they can always access from online portals?

Migs looks serious on the small screen but this single 5’10” guy is a fun-loving person who likes being surrounded by friends. “The public sees me as suplado but I’m not; I’m a people person so I have this sincere feeling for others,” he shares his inner man.

Migs has the millennial flair for smart dressing. He is partial for casual shirts over dark jacket and dark pants with the conspicuous signature watch. He is low-key but bold enough to publicize advocacies, disabled athletes in his case.

Migs is not a newbie but a professional basketball coach at De La Salle Zobel. Actual and theoretical knowledge of the game prepared him to be a seasoned commentator for the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

This expertise made him moonlight as contributor of hard news to Channel 2’s news program Bandila. And also to write articles and analysis to ABS-CBN’s online sports hub, sports.abs-cbn.com.

Migs, a certified sports buff since his younger years, lives beyond his dreams as the main man of ANC’s newest sports show. His initial goal was just to be able to call games as a sports critic, but hard work and faith paid off and opened more breaks.

He began his broadcast career as a promising and enthusiastic freshman analyst for ABS-CBN’s multi platforms, S+A sports channel’s The Score, DZMM’s Fastbreak and ANC’s Hardball, before venturing into newscasting as anchor for ANC Headlines.

In Gametime, his unique push brings the newcast to the games’ energy level while also providing sharp analysis of the day’s sports performances and issues.

For sure, in-depth evaluation matters in a thinkers network like ANC which puts premium on superb content that Migs delivers with a high degree of believability.

The evening news being the turf of senior anchors who count the highest years of service in small screens, Migs has to measure up with the likes of Noli De Castro, Ted Failon, Jessica Soho, and Mike Enriguez in credibility, high name recall and ability to deliver the news in an interesting manner.

ABS-CBN Integrated News head Ging Reyes partially acknowledged this when she shared that veteran evening newscaster with the mellifluous voice, the venerable Tina Monzon Palma, is on a “sabbatical.” Migs partially subs for her timeslot.

To balance the presentation, Migs was paired with Ron Cruz described as “veteran” among ANC anchors. This forced Tempo entertainment editor Nestor Cuartero to interject, “Does it matter?” during the question-and-answer portion.

Asked to answer the frequently asked question how he sees himself three years from now, Migs replies, “I will still be with ABS-CBN enhancing my craft.”

If Migs is still single, it looks like he’s shooting for a Thai actress!