The Grand Finale! Three is a Company.

The Grand Finale! Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao vs. Erik "El Terrible" Morales III! What more can you ask for?

If you are an Erik Morales fan then you'd probably ask for more effort on the part of El Terrible, but for PacMan fans? All is proven. Why the title? Manny Pacquiao had a guaranteed 3 Million Dollar purse, knocking out Erik Morales on the 3rd round of the fight, with 3 seconds remaining til' the end of the round and in the 3rd installment of the PacMan/El Terrible superfeatherweight rivalry, not to mention he was knocked down a total of 3 times.

What really caused Erik Morales' loss? Without thinking, you would probably say that Manny Pacqiuao is the better fighter of the two, that is if you're a PacMan fan. But in fairness to the PacMan, he was definitely better in almost every aspect possible. He was stronger, faster and heck he was even bigger physically. He actually looked like a welterweight division boxer. But personally I think it's not all because of PacMan's superiority over El Terrible, I think it's mostly because of El Terrible himself. Why so? Do remember that they had a rematch clause on 2nd fight contract which prompted this 3rd outing. I'm sure that they both definitely knew about this. El Terrible already struggled to make the weight on their 2nd fight, he was knocked out in the 10th round and lost via KO for the first time in his illustrious boxing career. As the 3rd fight was all prepped up and waiting to happen, he should have known that he would again have a hard time making the 130 lbs. Super Featherweight limit. Then why the f#%k did he let himself gain that much weight? The last I've heard was that he weighed as much as 162 lbs. Planning to go Middleweight? Hell definitely not, he'll get killed in that division. Just imagine shedding that much weight in 4 months and then going mano y mano with the very same fighter that knocked him out for the first time. That's just sheer stupidity. What was he and his trainers thinking?

Manny Pacquiao improved his "boxing" skills big time. Being just a "fighter", his improvement was amazing. The lateral movements, the counter-punching and who would've thought that he could still get stronger than he was before, not even mentioning his ever blinding speed. He threw 6-punch combinations within 2 to 3 seconds. Now that's literally blinding speed. Props to the people's champ for that. He just carved his name on the top of the pound for pound rankings.



Now, my previous article about the World Pool Championships held here in Manila, Philippines was more about how the politicians try and share (translated: hoard) the glory due the athletes. Now, here they come again. Wait until PacMan gets back home and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

NEED I SAY MORE?!?

WPC - World Pool Championships? Where Politicians Converge!

2 days after the conclusion of the World 9-Ball Pool Championships held in Manila, Philippines and triumphed by our very own Ronato Alcano, my prediction happened.

About 3 or 4 days after the prestigious tournament attended by 128 professional pool players from all over the world, I predicted that either a local or a Taiwanese will end up hoisting the world championship trophy. More importantly I foresaw that if a local would end up winning the tournament, our “not-so-publicity-and-camera-shy” president would again take the opportunity to share the glory of the champ.

I have nothing against the new champion Ronnie Alcano. I am not saying that he doesn’t deserve any of the attention he’s getting from the Filipinos, foreigners and “politicians”, heck he deserves all of those and more. The point I’m trying to give emphasis on is that “why the fuck do we allow these politicians to bask in the sunshine of Ronnie’s glory (that rhymed huh?!).

Ronato Alcano, 34 years old from Calamba, Laguna, rose from humble beginnings. Introduced to the game of billiards by his late father Ricardo who ran a billiard hall at the old market plaza. He and his brothers honed their billiard skills in that very same pool hall, but like all responsible parents, they wanted Ronnie to concentrate on his studies rather than playing billiards. But then, Ronnie’s love of the game got the better of him and he chose to play billiards instead of concentrating on his studies. His mother was featured on television a day after he won the championship. Living in a 50-square meter, one-bedroom house situated on a privately owned lot that was bare of any electrical appliances aside from a television set and two electric fans. The house had a rusty roof and had no ceiling, causing the heat to build up inside like a baking oven and walls made of unfinished hollow blocks. From a small time pool shark he progressed to becoming a professional player and eventually to a world champion with the help of Mr. Perry Mariano, a pool enthusiast himself.

Question, where were these ____ (insert profane adjective here) politicians during the times he wasn’t a champion yet? Answer, they are nowhere near him. Probably somewhere, again, basking in somebody else’s glory who made a name for themselves before Ronnie. Were they instrumental, in any way, in Ronnie’s success? Definitely not! Now, why would they start making these “courtesy calls” to Ronnie and getting all these photo-ops with the champ? Simple, P-O-L-I-T-I-C-S. Election period is nearing and they need all the exposure they can get. As for madam president, Order of Lakandula?? Champion for Life??? Very much deserved, yes. Giving him one million pesos together with the medal and the award? Definitely appreciated. But then again and again and again proving that the good president (note the sarcasm here) will never pass up an opportunity to get a photo opportunity with famous people who made their way to success on their own.

One word for these people, “saw-saw”.

Cheers!
(photo courtesy of the Matchroom Sports World Pool Championships 2006 Official website.)