Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Pacquiao Mania



Last Sunday morning, Oni Mayo headed for Makati to view the live feed of the Pacquiao - Bradley fight in Makati. From Ortigas Avenue, Oni's trip to Buendia in Makati took just 15 minutes. Yes, the streets were deserted since everyone in Manila was glued to their TV sets for the day. 

Earlier, Boy Carlos had issued out an invitation to Batch63 to watch the fight.  Century Properties, the real estate firm where Boy is accredited, has transformed their lobby headquarters and showroom at Pacific Star building into a venue for a PPV telecast of the Pacquiao fight. It was the firm's token of appreciation for those who had patronized their products.

Oni and Vince Misa showed up for the viewing. Oni arrived first where Boy was already at the lobby waiting for them. Vince came late since he just had to finish the Miami -Lakers NBA game he was watching.  At  the crowded lobby, a giant display of the firm's latest project was very obvious. The ongoing success of the firm in selling their condominiums is a reflection of the improving Philippine economy. According to Robby Liper - Boy's supervisor in the selling effort - most of the condominium buyers are OFWs who were not even planning to immediately use their condos. He surmised that Pinoys are channeling their resources more and more to Philippine-based investments due to the shaky investment climate of the countries they are in. 

Even as Vince was deciding how many condominiums he will buy, the main draw in the cards was announced and everyone was fixed in their viewing positions. Soon, the trio (Boy, Vince and Oni) joined the many others who were rooting for the Pacman. The venue rocked with the shouts of the crowd for each punch that Pacman threw. Grudging admiration was given by some to the durability of Bradley who mixed it up with the Pacman. 

At the end of the bout, it was confusion for the watching public. We know the results. Despite the Pacman's loss, many Pinoys typically rationalized the situation and stood by their man. Looking for a scapegoat for the loss, the crowd attacked the lunch buffet served by the host with a vengeance.  At around 2PM Manila time, the show was over for Vince, Boy and Oni who went their different ways.

Maybe Pacman lost because he had no more 'hunger' for success.  Or maybe his new found religion has 'softened' up his desire to hurt people.  Boy thought it was because Bradley refused to be put to 'sleep' by the power of Pacman.  How can someone be put to sleep when he cannot focus!  Huh?  Well, Boy's joke below explains it better: 

Crowd: Manny! Manny! Patulugin mo na! Patulugin mo na!

 Pacman: Paano kong patutulugin eh ang ingay-ingay ninyo!


See slide show for more photos.




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