It's been all pranks and hide-and-seek for the housemates in the November 22 episode of "Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0."!
Let's kick the games off with a prank war (with a heart!) that all started over lumpia (spring rolls). While they were eating, Sofia Pablo told Anton Vinzon to drink from her water bottle first because she was soaking his in the sink to get rid of its vinegar smell.
Pretty harmless, but how did the tumbler end up with vinegar smell? Sofia explained that when Iñigo Jose found out Anton had dipped his lumpia in water, he thought about getting even by putting vinegar in Anton’s water bottle as a funny revenge prank. But apparently, Inigo felt guilty halfway through and backed out.
Anton acted like he was about to retaliate and grab Inigo's tumbler for a counter-prank, but Sofia immediately stopped him. Still, a few moments later, the rest of the housemates couldn’t stop the two gentlemen from slipping into a playful confrontation that looked almost like a muscle-to-muscle face-off.
In the end, both of them admitted they didn’t actually push through with their pranks because, well, they couldn’t bring themselves to mess with each other that way. Meanwhile, Rave Victoria was enjoying the show. Audience mode activated, Rave?
After the prank war wrapped up, the girls received their own special mission. Big Brother called group leaders Ashley Sarmiento, Eliza Borromeo, and Princess Aliyah into the confession room to tell them they’d be handling a secret task tied to their weekly Pinoy games challenge. It was time for "tagu-taguan"!
When the new celebrity houseguest entered the house, only the female housemates were permitted to see her. And that highly anticipated houseguest was none other than Belle Mariano!
Given time to strategize, the girls came up with a cover story by telling the boys they needed privacy to rehearse “Jingle Bell Rock” for a supposed special task, while also distracting them by sending them off to play "patintero" under Sofia Pablo’s supervision, which they hoped would buy them enough time to prepare for Belle’s entrance.
While the boys stayed busy with their game in the garden, the girls moved through the house to tidy up and get everything ready for Belle’s arrival, convinced that their plan had worked perfectly and that the boys had no idea what was really happening. Did the boys actually fall for the girls' act?
As the girls busied themselves cleaning and setting up for their special visitor, Belle Mariano was already inside the confession room, looking so excited and happy to finally experience the iconic Bahay Ni Kuya for the first time.
In the confession room, Belle told Kuya bits and pieces about her life, from her close relationship with her parents to her role as the eldest among four siblings, describing herself as both bubbly and shy. Belle shared she grew up loving to entertain people despite her naturally timid side.
Each time a celebrity houseguest enters Bahay Ni Kuya, we’ve already seen how the housemates go 'wild' with excitement, so you can imagine how hard it was for the girls to keep their kilig and full-on fangirl energy under control when Belle Mariano arrived, as Kuya’s task required them to make sure the boys had no idea she was inside the house.
With the boys fully occupied in the garden and focusing on the "patintero" distraction the girls staged, the girls had the perfect window to secretly give Belle a house tour without worrying about anyone catching them.
But while the girls were chatting with Belle in the living room, John Clifford felt something was happening inside, so he walked back into the house to speak with Big Brother, leaving the girls to panic for a split second before pulling themselves together.
As the girls continued hiding Belle Mariano, Clifford’s instincts wouldn’t let him rest, so when Kuya asked everyone to come inside to change lapel batteries, he hurried in before the others and hid behind the couch, hoping to catch even the smallest clue from the girls’ conversation.
After getting zero intel from behind the couch, Clifford popped out and switched tactics, claiming that Kuya had supposedly given him the go signal to join their secret task and telling them that he was the only male housemate allowed to participate in whatever they were plotting.
Clifford played it so well that the girls trusted him easily. He finally learned Belle being kept inside the girls’ room. He got back outside, then hyped the boys to charge straight to the girls' room, where Belle greeted them face-to-face.
After her quick garden tour, Belle headed back to the living room where she chatted with the housemates. Belle urged everyone to share something about themselves, but first she opened up about her journey, sharing how she entered showbiz at nine years old and how she practically grew up in the industry.
Belle found a familiar face in Ashley, who she worked with way back on the Kapamilya kiddie gag show, "Goin' Bulilit." When it was Marco Masa’s turn to speak, Belle laughed and said she had definitely seen him before. Because just like Belle and Ashley, Marco’s first real training ground was "Goin' Bulilit" too. Marco then shared that he thought acting was just playtime when he was a child star until it became the craft he chose to stay with as he continued growing in showbiz.
She also recognized Carmelle Collado, who she’s been with on the Sunday variety show, "ASAP." Carmelle shared her amazing backstory—she started singing and joining competitions when she was just three years old until she got her break by winning in "Tawag Ng Tangalan: The School Showdown” on “It’s Showtime.”
After winning Big Brother’s special game and earning a merienda reward for Belle Mariano, the housemates headed to the kitchen and worked together to prepare the food for their special guest.
While waiting for the food to cook, Belle gave the younger artists a heartfelt pep talk by answering their questions. When Anton asked what piece of advice she could give to someone just starting in the industry, Belle stressed that staying grounded in who they are is the best way to stay unaffected by the noise around them.
''Along the way in the industry, not everyone ay mape-please mo. And that's okay," Belle told the housemates. "You don't live for those people. You live for yourself. And as long as you know who you are, and as long as the people you love love you, that's what really matters."
Belle succeeded in inspiring the Gen Z housemates with her advice about rising after setbacks and never getting tired of trying again, and before she left, she reminded them, "Always have that heart to extend grace and understanding with one another," to always be patient and understanding since they only have each other to rely on inside Bahay Ni Kuya.
Let’s see if the housemates can put Belle’s advice into action as they face the results of their third and final LigTask and head into the next round of nominations.
Catch “PBB Collab 2.0,” online via livestreams on the PBB YouTube Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), and iWant.