StarsStruck V finalist Rocco Nacino admits he is up against two equally tough contenders in Enzo Pineda and Steven Silva as the three of them move on for the title of Ultimate Male Survivor.

Who does Rocco think is the bigger threat between the two?

"Naku po, tatlo na lang kami, so it's really, really hard to say. I can't really say talaga. Nakita ko po yung improvement nilang dalawa," Rocco told PEP (Philippine Portal Entertainment) in an interview after the StarStruck V Final 6 put on a mini-fashion at the Activity Center of TriNoMa Mall last February 4.

It was Rocco's first fashion show and although he wasn't sure  whether he did well or not on the runway, he said he enjoyed the experience.

"I was just enjoying it. Kasi it's my first time to be part of a fashion show. Kung napansin niyo po kanina, at the last part, I was all smiles kasi nakakatuwa yung feeling... Kasi po first time ko talaga, e. So I don't know if it's good or bad yung mga nagawa ko," the young showbiz aspirant said.

Yet fans appreciated Rocco's work on the catwalk as they cheered him on, he related.

"Nakakatuwa," said Rocco. "I wanted to smile talaga, sobra. Kaso they told us na kailangan yung pang-fashion show yung look mo. And I heard them [fans] shouting my name. Sobrang nakakatuwa. I wanted to wave at them. Sobrang nakakatuwa talaga. Kung puwede lang may mic para makapag-thank you ako sa kanila."

"COMPETITORS NA FRIENDS." On the January 31 elimination of StarStruck V, Factor I automatically dropped Ian Batherson from the competition for being in the bottom group for the third time. Another surprise was Factor IV, which brings the competition to another level as the remaining six finalists compete among themselves regardless of gender to make it to Final V.

Rocco revealed that the finalists compete in the spirit of friendship in spite of this new rule.

"To tell you the truth, we are helping each other," he said. "Like, we give tips to Enzo, like yung mannerisms niya. 'Siguro dapat tanggalin mo...' Ganun. And with Steven, na kailangan yung mga Tagalog words... We train him. We speak to him in Tagalog para ma-practice po siya. Para kahit papaano po makatulong naman po kami. Although magkalaban po kami, kahit papaano, magkaibigan. Kahit papaano, may respeto pa rin. So, we're more of competitors na friends."

FAN-BASE DILEMMA. Despite good performance and computed score from the "Dream Flicks" challenge, Rocco was relegated to the bottom three again, together with Ian Batherson and Steven Silva, last January 31.

"Nung napunta po ako sa bottom three, medyo nalungkot ako kasi in my opinion, I think I did well sa Dream Flicks ko. I think I got good comments from Direk Soxy [Topacio]. Yung performance ko, I believe I got the highest score... Actually, sa totoo lang, nagulat po ako na nasama ako sa bottom three. That led me to think, okay, maybe it's the fan base," Rocco reflected.

Rocco said he deeply appreciates the efforts of his family and fans in campaigning for him, given his limitations in that area.

"Kasi sa bahay po, it's either we sleep, then we eat, then we fix up tapos work," explained the 22-year-old aspiring actor.

But he quickly countered that he doubles his efforts by interacting with fans whenever they are given time to go online, especially now that competition is stricter.

"Sobrang nagka-campaign ako ngayon through Facebook and yung mga thread in iGMA and Pinoy Exchange. Nakakapag-post ako sa Facebook. Nakakapag-campaign ako... Nananawagan ako sa mga fans ko, mga supporters na sana tulungan pa ako. Kasi para sa akin, ito yung pinaka-crucial week. Kasi pantay-pantay na po kami. So it can be any one of us na matanggal this week. So, I'm asking for their help talaga."