Nothing clear on Pacman’s next opponent
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has come and gone but nothing really concrete seems to have been accomplished during his brief visit to Manila.
A colleague who had the opportunity to meet with both Arum and Manny Pacquiao said everything is still up in the air.
“Bob said they have decided on Manny’s next opponent, but that they’re keeping it confidential. I don’t believe this is so. I don’t think they’ve made a choice,” said my colleague who is in a more confused state now after the meeting than before.
He said he’s not even sure if Floyd Mayweather Jr. is really out of the picture.
“I don’t know what the real situation is,” he said
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My colleague was very pleased to learn that the world’s pound-for-pound king has of late taken a fresh direction in his spiritual and moral life.
The Sarangani congressman personally told him that he is deep into bible study and has given up all his fighting roosters. No more cockfighting, no more vices for him.
I presume he has also given up all the chicks, having chosen the path of the straight and narrow.
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Even the man closest to the game, PBA commissioner Chito Salud, could not hazard a guess as to how the semifinal series would end. One thing’s for sure, it will end today.
Turning the tables on the press these past matches, the commissioner had been making a personal survey as he asked several of the scribes which two teams they think will survive.
The answers were different and varied because it was really hard to tell with the scenario changing all throughout the first six games of the series.
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Based on trivia provided us, a semifinal doubleheader both going the full route is a rare occurrence. It happened only three times in PBA history. And if Talk ‘N Text makes it to the final round, they will be only the third PBA team to win a best-of-seven series after trailing, 1-3.
Additional bits of trivia sent in by dzME sports vigilantes Teddy Reynoso and Jojo Cruz: Ateneo has the most number of players in the PBA semis which ends today. There are six Ateneans: Japeth Aguilar, Rich Alvarez and Larry Fonacier of TNT, Nonoy Baclao and Rabeh Al-Hussaini of Petron, and Doug Kramer of Powerade. La Salle, on the other hand, has five: Joseph Yeo and Carlo Sharma of Petron, TY Tang and Ryan Araña of Rain or Shine and JV Casio of Powerade.
According to the two, products of the UAAP currently dominate the league. University of the East has 15 products, La Salle 14, Ateneo 12 and FEU 11.
Among the ex-UE Warriors are James Yap, Hans Thiele, Ronald Tubid, Paul Lee, Paul Artadi, Niño Canaleta, Mark Borboran, Bonbon Custodio, Paolo Hubalde, Val Acuña, Robert Labagala, Rudy Lingganay and Ken Acibar.
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How would you like your cavity to be filled by a good-looking young Azkal?
Banish that dirty thought! I’m talking about tooth cavity and the Azkal I’m referring to is Filipino-Iranian Misagh Medina Bahadoran, forward of the Global Football Club in the UFL.
Aside from being a football player, this 24-year-old child of an Iranian father and a Kapampangan mother is also a dentist. He graduated from the Centro Escolar University with a degree in dentistry and will be taking the board exam as soon as he can fit it into his tight football schedule.
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“I want to do what I love doing most while I still can and that is play football. Later I will work, practice dentistry, most likely in Iran, where there is a demand for the profession,” said Misagh who was an outstanding futsal player in school and has competed in several international tournaments.
Right now Misagh and his family are based in the Philippines “because most of my brothers and sisters are still studying.”