Ray Querubin apologizes for poor performance in 'Physical: Asia' shipwreck challenge
Philippines’ Strongest Man three-time titleholder Ray Jefferson Querubin apologized for his performance on the Netflix competition show Physical: Asia.
Team Philippines had a poor showing at the show's Shipwreck Transportation Challenge, which almost caused their elimination.
Querubin told ABS-CBN News that he wore out early in the competition because his training focused more on strength.
“Hindi ko pwedeng i-blame sa team ‘yan. Ako ‘yung biggest guy,” he said.
The Shipwreck Challenge entailed bringing 50 kg crates or 20kg sacks from a shipwreck to the cargo hold of their base within 20 minutes.
Querubin lifted one 50 kg crate up a flight of stairs before sitting down after MMA fighter Mark “Mugen” Striegl assisted him on the second crate.
While Querubin was confident about lifting lighter crates—as he has a 420-kg deadlift record in the Philippines and can be seen doing a more than 350-kg car deadlift on social media—he admittedly didn’t consider other factors in the challenge.
“The weight is only 50 kg. Magaan lang ‘yung weight. What makes it really hard is the obstacle. ‘Yung pag-akyat, ‘yung buhangin, saka ‘yung tubig. Yes, ‘yung paakyat. Sobrang steep ‘yun. Hindi ‘yun basta-basta."
"Tapos given my size, I [was] like 145 kg at that time. So paglakad ko pa lang sa buhangin, wala. ['Yung paa ko] lubog na sa buhangin,” he said.
He also admitted to getting exhausted: “Yes, actually, hindi ko 'yan i-deny. Napagod talaga, naubos talaga ang hangin.”
Querubin disclosed that he trained pre-competition for short bursts of power in shorter distances. He also denied being injured or physically ill, and that he was in top shape before going to Korea.
He added that he also failed to point out a change of strategy, seeing rival Team Mongolia used two men to transport crates.
Team Philippines lost the Shipwreck Challenge, having only transported 1,290 kg compared to Mongolia's 2,000 kg. The then Pacquiao-led Philippine team also finished last in that quest's rankings, leading to a Death Match against Thailand.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao attributed the loss to a size advantage and that nobody is to be blamed for what happened.
Querubin was a Philippine weightlifting team member who transitioned into powerlifting and has set records in the Philippines’ Strongest Man competition.
Samoan strongman Eddie Jo Williams from Team Australia also acknowledged Querubin as probably the second strongest man in the Netflix show.
Having lost early in previous Physical: Asia challenges, Querubin is not blaming Filipinos for their intense bashing.
“I feel bad as well. I'm supposed to be there helping my team but I already reached…my limit as early as possible. Hindi ko, hindi ko siya ma-maximize, ‘yung potential,” he said.
“As a human being, of course, medyo nakaka-disappoint din dahil kapwa Pinoy mo instead na bigyan mo sila ng fighting spirit and then push mo sila to do better. 'Yung iba nababasa ko parang [below] the belt. That's fine. Opinion mo ‘yan eh. That doesn't stop me from doing the best.”
Team Philippines consists of Querubin, Mark Mugen, Justin Coveney, Lara Liwanag, and Robyn Brown. Team leader Manny Pacquiao left before the third quest due to his obligations in the Philippines. The boxing legend was replaced by hybrid athlete Justin Hernandez.
