Upset and triumph in 2013 poll games

Manny  Pacquiao didn’t have to throw even a single punch.

True enough, the 34-year-old Pinoy superhero scored a big triumph.  He  won a second straight term as Congressman of Sarangani Province, yes,  by  just showing up.

To repeat, Pacquiao could’ve afforded a more relevant outing, a fitting tuneup, before his scheduled Nov. 24 bout in Macau against former world light welterweight titlist Brandon Rios.

Of course, it’s not very surprising how several fight experts have rated the younger Rios a pushover for his bout against the eight-division world champion from the Philippines.

For one,  there’s the more deserving Mike Alvarado, who has dethroned Rios in their second fight recently.

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Anyway, do note that, just like Rios, Pacquiao is similarly on a comeback.

Of course, there are fight critics who claimed Pacquiao has been assigned a less perilous trail in order  to make sure he reclaims full stardom soon enough.

In fact, trainer Freddie Roach could not help but salivate and announce a knockout win “as clear as day” for his prized ward, who has yet to formally return to the road.

Maybe Team Pacquiao finds no need yet to at least start sizing up Rios?

However, those who have followed welterweight division happenings close enough are not about to rule out an upset.

For one Rios, with a granite chin, has never been stopped.  A notable power-puncher, the fast-growing Rios can only be expected to come in perfect welterweight form, unlike in that clash against Alvarado.  In that losing stand, Rios was able to hang on and survive terrible bombardment in the closing rounds after having showed up only half-prepared for the championship.

Yes, there promises to be a full-scale war  in Macau and, despite Pacquiao’s edge in might and experience, his  durability—hopefully not yet eroded by the years—will  surely be a subject of fierce fistic scrutiny come fight time in November.

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Turning to the results of the last mid-term poll games, there was no upset of earth-shaking proportion in my birthplace Mandaluyong after the crowd favorite, Mayor Benhur Abalos, breezed through the finish line pulling away.

Of course, not a few poor and small people were left bothered, forlorn, following the unexpected exit of the well-admired Jess Garcia, a successful former OFW, as Mandaluyong City councilor.

The morning after the counting, street-sweepers Emma and Isang shared their grief. They could not believe, like most of their peers,  how Garcia, for whom they had campaigned quietly and who had figured prominently in pre-poll surveys, finished seventh, some 600 votes behind the sixth overall official finisher.

Eddie Tutanes, who said he was with Garcia in all the Iglesia ni Cristo services they had regularly attended, wondered out loud how his ally had been “junked by the INC.”

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No, this is not to say the INC scored its own win by junking an over-achieving, well-loved public servant.

But the INC, like it or not, had innocently joined hands with envious rivals who worked overtime—even using the name of a respected three-time Olympian from riverside Mandaluyong—to smear  the name of the good fellow, en route to irresponsibly pulling Jess Garcia down.

Going by post-poll results, Garcia—dubbed as the Konsehal ng Pamilyang Mandaleno—could’ve held on had he agreed to stoop low and play dirty, too.

He stood his ground, refusing even to counter foul tactics. All he would ask of others was work and stop the foulness—“Maglingkod, Huwag Manira, Gumawa.”

Did he fall victim to his own dedication and integrity?