They started drawing parallels between Manny Pacquiao and the Gilas Pilipinas squad before Tuesday night’s robust conquest of powerhouse Qatar by our national basketball team.
There was an early rush to compare the tremendous popularity of the national cagers to the record crowd appeal of Pacquiao, a certified superhero who has won eight separate world titles.
Truth is that after Pacquiao suffered a shocking lights-out crash against Juan Manuel Marquez last year, gloom descended on Philippine boxing with the fall of at least two more Filipino world champions, Brian Viloria and Nonito Donaire Jr.
Did Pacquiao, who had given his countrymen some of their most ecstatic moments, next usher in a national nightmare?
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Meanwhile, after only two wins—against Saudi Arabia and Jordan—in the Fiba Asia championship, Gilas Pilipinas began to steal the fancy of Filipino fans who have been hungering for a certified new hero.
Crowds started to descend upon The Arena at Mall of Asia, a new gleaming basketball mecca, in record numbers.
Then the unexpected happened.
The national frenzy was instantly snuffed out after Gilas Pilipinas figured in a nightmare finish in their third game against Chinese Taipei.
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Gilas Pilipinas moved up quick to soothe the national heartache with succeeding big wins, as though it had not suffered what could well amount to a knockout at the hands of the Taiwanese fleet-foots.
Of course, the wins over Japan and Qatar cannot be likened to a full-fledged comeback because Gilas Pilipinas has been lined up against formidable foes in the succeeding stages, which promise to be a tightrope test for the national team.
The parallelism thrives.
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Compared to what the national team’s next assignments, Pacquiao could be heading for a picnic in Macau in November.
The way Pacquiao has sized up Brandon Rios, the robust bang-bang style of the younger, bigger former world champ makes Manny’s mouth water.
Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach has, in fact, ordered nothing less than a knockout.
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There’s no denying the national push for the national team basketball team will be solidly replicated in Macau in November.
Of course, Pacquiao—and Roach—must also heed what Rios has been claiming.
“He (Pacquiao) commits a lot of mistakes and we will exploit these,” Rios has remarked during the media road tour for the Macau main event.
Rios said he would capitalize on Pacquiao’s aggressiveness and weak chin.
Pacquiao said there’s no way he could lose.