Aubrey Miles, Lopez scion joining Amazing Race Asia

Two teams from the Philippines, one led by actress Aubrey Miles and the other by publisher Ernie Lopez, have been selected as among the 10 couples who will compete in the first-ever Asian edition of The Amazing Race for the grand prize of $100,000. Aubrey Miles teamed up with her best friend Jacqueline Yu who works as a professional model. "They jokingly associate themselves with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie," according to the AXN-Asia website. Ernie Lopez, brother of ABS-CBN chairman Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III, teamed up with Jeena, his wife of 10 years. Ernie is also head of ABS-CBN Publishing which prints Metro Magazine and the Philippine edition of Maxim. The Lopez couple have tried a range of sports including diving, hiking, and rock-climbing. These days, the couple plays different sports: Jeena enjoys horse-jumping while Ernie participates in adventure racing and tennis. The Amazing Race Asia selected from a broad spectrum of people from various Asian countries since the call for participation was made in February. According to the AXN-Asia website, some applicants begged, some bragged, some even cried, just to attract the eyes of the selection committee. "It was a tough process, but after much deliberation, a diverse group of contestants living in different parts of Asia, of various backgrounds and life experiences were thrown into the mix to outrun, outsmart and conquer in the race," AXN said. "The producers definitely took the time and did their homework to select the most diverse, entertaining, and controversial batch of contestants for our first season. Expect to see the usual tantrums and arguments between teams and teammates. Furthermore, expect to see clashes that you've never even seen on the US-version. Our contestants are from all over the region and not just one country so you are definitely going to see some major drama and rivalries," host Allan Yu said Among the exciting group, there are two hunky models from India and expatriates living in Thailand and Hong Kong. The teams will be traveling around Asia and beyond. The Amazing Race Asia will be broadcast exclusively on AXN later in 2006. - GMANews.TV