Someone Up There must be a Pacquiao fan
By Rolando Fuertes


Maybe we forgot. Maybe we Filipinos should be reminded again - and again.

Someone Up There must have forgotten to tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree in our minds. That's why we forgot.

Forgot what?

We forgot that Filipinos nowadays are being butchered by Asian neighbours on the hardcourt. I mean, in basketball - a sport Filipinos have passionately embraced as a virtual religion.

We forgot that for the past few years the Philippines has not figured prominently in the battle for Asian basketball crown, not even in qualifiers for the Olympics.

We forgot that love for the game is not a surefire formula for success in basketball.

We forgot that playing for the country is a matter of national pride, not a matter of prize.

We forgot that it's a question of heart which, sadly, our lazy breed of national players - particularly those pampered PBA millionaires - don't have.

We forgot that the even bigger problem is how to bring back the old values, the old heart and the old fire to our players when they compete abroad for flag and country - a phrase reduced to political speeches nowadays.

Don't get me wrong.

I would love to see the Philippines regain our long lost reputation as the best in Asia. After all, we pride our country as a basketball-crazy republic, right?

Don't get me wrong.

Filipinos - never mind if they're Filipino-Americans whose surnames seem very alien - have got the talents and skills to play in the Olympics.

But then again, we must have forgotten that amid continued frustrations in basketball, Someone Up There has always been good to us.

In fact, he gave us a gem of a boxer in Manny Pacquiao, a world champion who has metamorphosed into a global phenomenon.

In Pacquiao, Someone Up There must have wanted to remind Filipinos that there is always a better alternative to basketball. And that is boxing.

For that, we can always remember Pacquiao.

You know, the man who conquered Mexican legends Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales.

Or has time blurred the images in our minds beyond recognition?

Ask yourself, what kind of supernatural phenomenon could have caused Pacquiao's defeat to Morales in the first part of their much celebrated trilogy?

A victory for Pacquiao then could have easily been the defining moment for him.

But no. Someone Up There made us wait.

To build up the suspense?

To give Pacquiao the chance to beat Morales in their next two meetings, which he did?

To give Pacquiao the chance to make himself unquestionably the most exciting boxer in the world today?

Or maybe to show that Someone Up There is in charge, even in the boxing ring?

We will never know.

All we know are these:

That every Pacquiao fight is almost as big in impact as the Thrilla in Manila between Ali and Frazier in 1975.

That Pacquiao is one of the best, if not the best, pound-for-pound boxers today.

That for a country so divided like ours, Pacquiao has become a unifier.

That each time he climbs the ring, he has this aura, if not mantra, to lullaby us to dreamland, if not fantasyland.

That with Pacquiao in the ring, the agony and horror of basketball can take the back seat.

That, still, Filipinos will continue to be obsessed with basketball and blinded by the illusion of basketball glory. Till kingdom come. How pathetic.

If ever there is one living soul whom Someone Up There could use to prove those points, Pacquiao could be it.

Basketball fanatics can grumble at the notion that Divine Intervention has something to do with the sport's endless failures - and with Pacquiao's overwhelming success.

After all, Filipinos clasp their hands and bow their heads in prayer everytime Pacquiao fights.

That. Is. Precisely. The main point.

Maybe Someone Up There is also cheering for Pacquiao to remind us that boxing - and not basketball - is our sport.

Maybe, just maybe, God is a Pacquiao fan.

Dailynews.com

--------------------------------------------------------

As we all know basketball is like a religion to the filipinos as hockey to the Canadians but lets face it....we suck are not very succesful at it in terms of winning major medals for our country in International or just even in regional olympics. In the other hand, we are somehow gifted in the art of sweet science (boxing) Why could not be this sport our national sport? Don't get me wrong I love basketball, almost all filipinos love basketball but this is not going to bring glory to the Philippines like boxing does.

In my observation, Filipinos can't really excel in Team Sports because the FIlipino is not a team player, unlike in Individual sports like boxing, billiards, bowling, etc... the filipino can really excel.

It would be nice if we would focus our attention on sports where size is not an advantage for a change.

The Philippines used to be a powerhouse in Asia in sports such as football (soccer) and tennis. Why not again?

I'm also surprised that we aren't faring better in golf. Golf has been played in the Philippines for over a century now. There are several women who have fared well in pro golf very recently. Jennifer Rosales and Fil-Am Dorothy Delasin teamed up in 2005 for the Women's World Cup of Golf and finished in 3rd place.


Jennifer Rosales

In 2006, Jennifer Rosales played with Manila-born Ana Larrañeta (she now lives in Spain, where she also has Spanish citizenship and plays on the Ladies European Tour) to represent the Philippines at the Women's World Cup of Golf.


Ana Larrañeta

Now these women athletes should be getting more attention in the Philippines, I think.

Totally agree! Boxing has always brought glory to our country, and yet so little attention and support (read->funding!) are given to this sport.

When will it finally sink in to the Pinoy psyche that we will never dominate basketball, it amazes me how these overpaid ballers get so much attention in losing! nuff said.

Wyell we should see the Filipinos rule in he athletic world. Besides basketball is sort of the pastime of Philippines, I personally am waiting for a Filipino to be in the NBA.

Filipinos lost again in the Asian male olympics against Jordan when are we gona learn?? I say replace those basketball courts with boxing gyms men

boxing? pls .. we're not even that good in boxing.. just because Pacquiao is one of the best in the world doesnt mean filipinos are good at that sport. How many champs do we have? 2? lol .. japan has more champs than us..


Basketball is here to stay... like it or not.

We got 2 world champions for now. My point is when was the last time our over paid pinoy ballers bring glory to the country? Ballers are so overpaid while there are alot of boxing talents out there that are left unnortured cos of lack of attention from our own compatriots and funding from the goverment.

Basketball sells, Boxing doesnt .. unless ofcourse youre Manny Pacquiao. Its that simple. Basketball plays game 3 times a week... Boxing = 3 fights a year..

..and last time I remember .. San Miguel and PLDT are not part of the government.

I dunno if boxing will work on the local level. I mean in all the small towns across the Philippines think if we were to replace all the basketball courts w/ boxing rings. You honestly think parents are gonna let their young kids box. Iono... Maybe i'm looking at this from an American perspective, lol. I dunno how Filipino parents would feel.

Olympic Games!

u know why? our boxing program is not funded as well as japan. even basketball is funded better altho we know we're not that good in the international level. what SOV meant is that filipinos have the potential to become notorious in boxing, internationally like the mexicans. hell we're known even in japan as kings in the ring. even the mexicans are starting to feel the pinoy punch! if the mexicans can do it, so can the pinoys!

but i agree. i cant let go of basketball! its just too awesome.

speaking of team sports, how bout soccer in the philippines? or baseball like cuba?

what about muay thai?

Boxing is a brutal and dangerous sport though bro,I think a much safer and fast paced sport (like soccer) would be much better suited for us.

i believe football players(soccer) suffer from more injuries than boxers.

According to this survey, basketball is the most dangerous sport

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news...ketball-cycling

Soccer players play every week, boxers fight every few months, if they fought every week, their career will be very short, I can't imagine how short but I'd say a couple of years instead of a 10+ year span.

What I'd say is a boxer will play soccer, but will a soccer player do boxing?



That survey is irrelevant.

never too late to learn though..i think team work is worth the experience and effort if learned or trained

no what im saying is that boxing as a sport is not brutal and dangerous... and that if we look at football players and boxers, football players suffer way more broken legs, nose, ancles, knees, ligaments and what not, than boxers do.

not to mention theres been numerous cases of football players just dying in the middle of a match... not that people dont die from being punched in the head of course...

I see, where is this coming from though? because Soccer is the worlds game, it's bound to have more injuries.

Then what about billard? We own in that sport lol.

Sonofvisayas, that article was corny.

every sport is dangerous.. at least most of them involves physical

How about bowling then? Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno is considered by many to be the greatest Filipino athlete of all-time. FYI, he is from the prominent Nepomuceno clan and a La Salle alum!



Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno, Pinoy bowling legend.

Here is his Wikipedia entry:

Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno (born January 30, 1957 in Manila) is a Filipino Ten-pin bowler bowler who has won the World Cup in bowling four times in three decades:

• In Tehran, Iran on November 19, 1976

• In Jakarta, Indonesia on November 1, 1980

• In Le Mans, France on November 8, 1992

• In Belfast, Northern Ireland on November 23, 1996

Nepomuceno also won the International Tournament championship in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 8, 1984 and the World Tenpin Masters championship in London, England on March 7, 1999. On October 4, 2002, Paeng won a gold medal together with RJ Bautista in bowling's double event for men at the Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea. In total, Paeng has won over 100 tournament titles.

He is the only bowler who had received the prestigious International Olympic Committee President's Trophy and was the first enshrined in the International Bowling Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Missouri in 1993. In November 1999, the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) named Paeng as the "International Bowling Athlete of the Millennium."

In a ceremony held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, an FIQ official cited Paeng with these words: "No international bowling athlete is more deserving of recognition than Paeng. In addition to his long list of well-known achievements as a world champion in three decades, Paeng truly has been and continues to be an extraordinary ambassador for Filipino sport."

Six-time world champion Paeng Nepomuceno, Guinness Book of World Records-holder and recently designated ambassador of goodwill by the United Nations, will leave for Milan (07/11/2007), with wife Pinky, managing director of Puyat Sports. Nepomuceno sees action in the first ever Paeng Nepomuceno Cup bowling tournament on July 12-17 at the Loreto Bowling Center in Milan. Nepomuceno, the FIQ’s International Bowler of the Millennium and the greatest bowler in the sport’s history, will also conduct a clinic as part of the week-long event organized by the Philippine Consulate General in coordination with the Filipino Bowlers Club of Milan. Some 100 bowling enthusiasts from all over Italy, including Consul General Pedro O. Chan, will compete in the tournament coordinated by Manuel “Jun” Duran, top bowler of the Philippine Consulate General in Milan, and FCBM president Dennis del Rosario and official Roland Pasco.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Nepomuceno.

We own boxing because we have worked hard on it and it doesn't require expensive equipment. If anything, we should concentrate on starting young and work our way up instead of going for sports that doesn't benefit the Filipino due to economic disadvantages. Never mind golf (too much land), never mind car racing (gas is expensive), forget about hockey (obviously) and just concentrate on the fighting arts (we have a rich background in the fighting arts, we just don't make use of it) and any other sport that involves a one on one type of competition (if you've noticed, alot of the sports that Pinoys excel in are usually individual sports). Think about it.

forget basketball and boxing

tennis....tennis and tennis na
laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang ok.