In the face of victory, real winners remain genuine, sincere, and grounded. That’s what we see in Jhong Hilario, Kim Chiu, and Ion Perez aka Team JKI, who emerged as Magpasikat 2023 Grand Champion on It’s Showtime’s 14th-anniversary celebration. The finale announcement and awarding happened during the November 11 episode.

The trio’s parkour-contemporary dance exhibition built on the theme of social media and mobile technology abuse garnered 9.6 points from the combined scores of hurados Olivia Lamasan, Jett Pangan, Apl.de.ap, Barbie Forteza, and Tirso Cruz III.

The atmosphere was joyous and everyone was in the mood for revelry when ent.abs-cbn.com approached Team JKI for an exclusive interview. Check out the video!

They dedicated their win to the madlang people and everyone whom they inspired through their performance. Ion specifically mentioned his late sister, honoring her love and sacrifices for him. Their award is also for their family and friends “na minsan hindi na namin napapansin dahil sa paggamit ng cellphone,” said Jhong, referencing the overall message of their presentation.

“Talagang walang katulad na kasiyahan ang nararamdaman namin dahil talagang pinaghirapan namin ito. Buong team talagang nag-effort. Lahat ng mga involved dito nagpuyat, nagpagod, nag-isip at nag-alay ng talent para sa madlang people,” he further shared when asked how they were feeling at that moment. This marks a back-to-back championship for Jhong, who shared the grand prize with Ryan Bang in last year’s Magpasikat.

Meanwhile, this serves as Ion’s first Magpasikat championship and he’s surely over the moon. “Ganito pala ang feeling ng nag-champion dito sa Magpasikat.”

In her signature effervescence, Kim added, “Parang kahapon lang kami nag-perform pero ito agad ‘yung nakuha naming resulta. Sobrang grateful, punumpuno kami ng kasiyahan.”

The grand prize, which is Php300,000 for their chosen charity, is just a bonus for Team JKI. What matters is that they were able to impart an important message that opens the spectators' eyes to the unfiltered ‘dark side’ of mobile technology.

“Maging responsable tayo sa paggamit ng cellphone," Jhong imparted when asked their greatest lesson learned from their Magpasikat 2023 journey. To cap it off, the trio extends their gratitude to the judges; and of course, God, for the gift of a successful and safe performance.

Congratulations, Team JKI!