Manny Pacquiao leads Philippine team in Netflix’s 'Physical: Asia'

There’s no better candidate to spearhead Team Philippines in Netflix’s newest reality competition Physical: Asia than boxing’s only eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.

Fil-Am sambo national athlete Mark Mugen, strongman Ray Jefferson Querubin, national team rugby player Justin Coveney, national hurdler Robyn Lauren Brown, and CrossFit athlete Lara Lorraine Deang Liwanag will be joining Pacquiao in representing the Philippines.

The six-man team will face contenders from Thailand, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Australia, Indonesia, and Türkiye in the 12-episode show.

Other notable representatives include Türkiye oil wrestling champion Recep Kara, South Korean mixed martial artist Kim Dong-hyun, Thailand Muay Thai champion Suppachai “Superbon” Muensang, and Australian UFC middleweight champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker.

Set in Korea, the competition features intense challenges, such as retrieving precious supplies from a sinking shipwreck, death match–style eliminations, and a king of the mountain–style contest on an ever-shifting sand dune, according to Netflix.

The country that emerges on top at the end of the show will win 1 billion Korean won, or roughly P41,170,703.70 at the time of writing.