Pacman, Pool and Putbol

The past few days have all been about these 3 P's. Earlier in the month, the World Pool Championship was held for the first time in Manila, Philippines and while the favourite Efren 'The Magician' Reyes did not make it to the final rounds, Ronnie 'The Volcano' Alcano, a fellow patriot, defeated German Ralph Soquet to win the title of World Pool Champion. Alcano becomes the third Filipino to win the most prestigious title in 9-ball, the other two were Efren Reyes and Alex 'The Lion' Pagulayan.

Last Sunday, another Filipino made it big in the world of sports. Manny Pacquiao, the Destroyer, the Pacman, fought Erik 'El Terrible' Morales of Mexico for the third time inside the boxing ring. Dubbed as the Final Chapter in this epic boxing trilogy of the modern era, Manny Pacquiao defeated the Mexican after 3 rounds of boxing. El Terrible could not withstand the speed and power of the Pacman's punches. The Mexican fell on the floor 3 times, once during the second round and twice on the third round. On the last knock out, Morales decided not to get up anymore. It has to be recalled that during their first meeting, Pacman was defeated by Morales based by a unanimous decision of the judges. On their second meeting, Pacman knocked out Morales (his first ever knock out defeat in his entire career) on the tenth round. Their final meeting sealed the faith of the former world champion and pride of Mexico. Pacman has elevated himself to be the most popular boxer today.

Yesterday, the Philippine Football Team has also made big in their ASEAN qualifying held here in Bacolod City at Panaad Stadium. During their earlier matches, the Philippine booters were defeated by Laos 2-1. The Philippine team nonetheless came back and defeated East Timor 7-0 and Cambodia 1-0 by a penalty kick. Yesterday, they defeated Brunei. Their last win over Brunei ensured them a spot for the ASEAN Football Championships. If they could also make it at the ASEAN, they would qualify for the Asian Games this December.

There is so much to be proud of these days. It isn't always bad news for the Philippines.