Shipping: of Love Teams & Koo-jins (Part 1)

Whatcha shippin, mothershipper? 👩‍❤️‍💑👨‍❤️‍

Ah very Pinoy gid dya nga concept... Bag-o pa nahurma ang "shipping" nga term may love teams dun taton gi. Matyagan ko we are one of the "shipping" (if not THE SHIPPING) capital of Asia. Halin pa kauna mahuyugon gid man kita mag pares-pares kang artista kag pakulintasan ka sampaguita (90s reference 😏) With beginnings traced back to the zarzuela, love teams have long been part of Filipino pop culture. Uyunan ta lang mag take on the "matchmaker" role.. We just can't leave people alone. Mga atribida. Ang aton counterpart sa love teams siguro ang mga koo-jins of Thailand. Mahilig man tanda gali sa amo ka dya nga hirikuton para sa anda mga dara.

Richard Gomez & Dawn Zulueta

Here are my personal favorite ships, ginpasunod ko lang alphabetically... (Ang part 1 ka post is on Pinoy love teams lang anay, part 2 is on Thai koo-jins... part 3? Paminsaran ko pa!) Naglugdang man ang kalabanan ka dya gi pay kang tyempo nanda hay gintay-ug da man dyang akon shipper's heart... and I'm into shipping fictional characters pa kato anay. Gin ship ko sanda ka dya bisan ang iban bukon official love teams hay nagapati ako nga may on-screen chemistry ang anda tandem kag nagalaum nga they could work on more projects together.

Pinoy Love Teams:

AlDub (Alden Richards & Maine Mendoza)

Phenomenal ang anda ka dya nga love team... nagapamatuod nga any ship is possible basta the timing is right. Their pairing began on live TV when they started reacting to each other spontaneously within the Eat Bulaga variety show. Amo dya nga appealing sa Pinoy ang tandem hay it wasn't just the creation of a TV network or movie production. Waay ginhungod. That moment nga nag break character ang snobbish Yaya Dub (Mendoza) kag ginkilig pagkita kay Alden... everybody watching the telecast also felt that kilig. Via split screen man ang anda romance kag waay sanda speaking lines nga duha (exchange nanda thru dubsmash kag lip-sync) pay convincing ang anda chemistry. Raku nga Pinoy ang maka relate sa anda love story nga kinahanlan mag agi sa obstacles (salamat kay Lola Nidora). The tandem maintained their top status for almost three years up until the last months of 2018 when both Alden and Maine started doing separate projects. Here are their projects together:

• My Bebe Love (2015)

• Imagine You & Me (2016)

• Destined To Be Yours (2017)

• Love is ... (2017)

DingDong Dantes & Iza Calzado

Moments of Love (2006)

Nakapira man sanda gawa ka teleserye (tv series) nga sanda ang OTP. I like how their looks complement each other kapin pa sa mga fantaserye (fantasy series) nanda nga projects pareho kang Atlantika (2006) kag Encantadia (2005). Raku man sanda movies together, nagdayunay man sanda sa ending ukon waay... anyu-an sanda duha para ka nakon. Here are some of their films:

• Moments of Love (2006) - a romantic tale between two people from different timelines

• Eternity (2006) - star-crossed lovers fight for their love against family hostilities

• One True Love (2008) - due to amnesia, a man struggles to remember his true love

Angayan sanda sa mga dinumaan nga setting.. classic abi nawong nanda mo. Bukon man tanda official love team pay they sold the romantic fantasy very well.

John Lloyd Cruz & Bea Alonzo

The iconic Popoy and Basha of Pinoy's all-time favorite romantic film One More Chance (2007) and its sequel A Second Chance (2015). May rason kun insa sanda ang ginakabig nga Kilig Royalty. Ang anda tandem has proven time and time again nga chemistry plus acting chops makes them one of the greatest love teams in the country. In an online survey conducted by The Nerve, the two were voted as the “greatest love team of all time.” (Zapante, 2018) Mapisan pa gid sanda hay halin kang 2003 dangat 2015, compared with other love teams, mas raku gid ang anda projects nga nahimo. Gya ang list ka mga projects nanda in film and television:

• My First Romance (2003)

• Now That I Have You (2004)

• All About Love (2006)

• Close To You (2006)

• Maging Sino Ka Man (2006)

• I Love Betty la Fea (2007)

• One More Chance (2007)

• Miss You Like Crazy (2010)

• The Mistress (2012)

• A Second Chance (2015)

Ginpapati kita nanday John Lloyd and Bea that we had a chance (pun not intended) at true love, and (suno sa mga later films) that it can weather any storm, whether financial or emotional. Gani para sa mga Pinoy, they will always be the avatar of what we can do when we have love on our side. (Gamay dlang nga kumod, daw mapati run gid ang laon!)

MarJo (Marvin Agustin & Jolina Magdangal)

MarJo was the OG source of love team kilig in the late ‘90s. Kun indi mo dya sanda kilala then you're too young for this post 😉😉😏 Sin-o man ang indi malipat sa iconic line nga:

"Oh yes kaibigan mo ako, kaibigan mo lang ako... And I’m so stupid to make the biggest mistake of falling in love with my bestfriend!!!”(Labs Kita, Okey ka Lang?)

Way before the term "friendzoned" was memed all over the internet, si Jolens ang class president ka friend zone academy. Ang mga batang 90's nga mahilig mag G.I.M.I.K ka una, na-witness ang development ka MarJo love team sa anda characters nga si Joey (Agustin) kag Ese (Magdangal). Here are their unforgettable movies together:

• FLAMES: The Movie (1997) - Tameme

• Kung Ayaw Mo, Huwag Mo! (1998)

• Labs Kita, Okey Ka Lang (1998)

• Gimik: The Reunion (1999)

• Hey Babe!” (1999)

Rico Yan & Claudine Barretto

Sanda ka dya ang "OG OTP" ka mga soap operas kato anay. These two made us kilig. They made us cry. They made us feel all sorts of things. Ang anda teleserye nga Mula Sa Puso is one of the most successful television series nga may spin off movie pa in 1999 hay indi ka get over ang mga Pinoy sa Via-Gabriel love story. Their onscreen romance soon became an offscreen relationship which sadly, ended with Rico’s tragic demise in 2002. Baw raku gid nga fangirls ang nagtangis ka na. Kun gusto mo balik-balikan ang mga projects nanda and feel the kilig all over again, here's the list kang anda mga movies & teleserye:

• Radio Romance (1996)

• Mula Sa Puso (1997)

• FLAMES: The Movie (1997) - Pangako

• Dahil Mahal na Mahal Kita (1998)

• Saan Ka Man Naroroon (1999)

• Got 2 Believe in Magic (2002)

Obviously batang 90's ako sa mga love teams nga akon gina-ship (or more appropriately, paralantaw pa ako ka tv amo dya nga tyempo hay pwerte pa kakuri ang internet kag indi pa uso ang streaming). Pasencya sa mga urihing tubo nga love teams. I felt too old for you... except Aldub hay nobody see it coming siguro.

So whatcha shippin? May idugang ka pa ka nanda sa shipping yard? Sin-o sa mga Pinoy ships ang imo ginapautaw-utaw sa lawud?

References: https://rappler.com/brandrap/data-stories/can-kilig-factor-guarantee-success-filipino-love-teams; https://cnnphilippines.com/life/entertainment/film/2016/05/08/john-lloyd-cruz-ranking-love-teams.html; https://starcinema.abs-cbn.com/2020/2/29/news/5-marvin-and-jolina-movies-that-we-will-never-get-58303; https://www.wheninmanila.com/13-unforgettable-pinoy-love-teams-that-we-cant-get-over/;