ALVIN Patrimonio is known from Appari to Jolo, one of RP?s biggest-ever basketball stars. But last Saturday night, he reversed roles and turned ordinary man.
I stood across Alvin as he pulled out his Sony Ericsson P900. Like any awestruck fan, he waited for the perfect photo shot amid the crowd that pumped fists in the air and screamed till voices turned hoarse, ?Manny! Manny!? For whom? A national treasure named Manny Pacquiao.
I arrived at The Fort Open Field in the new city of Taguig early at five in the afternoon. What greeted me were hectares of green flat land to fill a dozen soccer fields, sandwiched by skyscrapers that touched the clouds and malls like Ayala?s newly-opened Market! Market!
Security was tougher than the US Embassy: Uniformed police and military men barricaded the temporarily-built GI sheet walls, same with a squadron of hard-bodied six-footers with shirts imprinted ?Bouncer.?
The boxing ring loomed at the center, tall and mighty. It was covered with a high tent littered with lights so intelligent they danced in unison.
And as if Superman were flying overhead, dozens of white floodlights beamed towards the night sky. The name ?Smart,? the night?s mega-sponsor, which doled out tens of millions, was plastered all over: From the floating hot air balloon to Robin Padilla?s shirt to the videos that played nonstop on the six large screen projectors.
I?m lucky. Together with mediamen Rommel Manlosa, Erwin Lirazan and Manny Villaruel from Cebu, we owned a rare privilege as press members; we got in for free. And in style. We entered the VIP door, walked down the red carpet laid for the night and sat just throws away from those who paid a whopping P10,000 per plastic chair.
Antonio ?Bidoy? Aldeguer, in signature all-black sweater, met me at the entrance, together with son Michael and Christine, Mike?s lovely wife.
Soon, war erupted and The Fort overflowed with a sea of boisterous fans. That was when we overheard a large Bisayan contingent which headed our way and sat next to us. Then I overheard a whisper, ?Asawa yan ni Manny.? (That?s Manny?s wife) Jinkee is petite, mestiza-looking with long light brown hair and sexy in strapless tube top and jeans. With her sat a barrio from Gen. Santos: Manny?s mom, relatives, friends, neighbors.
A funny scene was when one of the organizers sprinted towards Jinkee?s group and shouted that they move their two vehicles at the VIP door because GMA was arriving and they were blocking the way. We laughed.
It turned out GMA couldn?t come. But government bigwigs sat in attendance: Vice President Noli de Castro, Senators Mar Roxas, Dick Gordon, Speaker Joe de Venecia, MMDA chairperson Bayani Fernando, and dozens of mayors from Lito Atienza to Rudy Duterte. Actors from Bayani Agbayani to Cesar Montano were everywhere they looked like neighbors.
Three Cebuanos ? all from the ALA Gym ? took the stage. And though Reynald Tribo got knocked down, Rollen del Castillo and Z Gorres strutted an impressive barrage of blows to win handily. Finally, at 9:30 p.m., and as the ring announcer would say, ?It?s showtime!?
Across Alvin Patrimonio, I stood at the entrance where Manny was to emerge from his tent. The speakers blared, the smoke from the machines enveloped the air, there were screams and the camera lights flashed as Pacman emerged.
To me, the highlight took place before the fight. When Regine Velasquez, in a glittering silver dress, took the microphone. Amidst 25,000 other Filipinos at The Fort that evening, as the RP flag waved and the large screens projected Manny singing, our Pambansang Awit never sounded sweeter. I had goose bumps all over.
For a long time, seeing nothing but bad news after bad news after bad news, that night was different.
I felt tall. I felt pride. I felt good to be Filipino.
Finally, the bell rang and the two gladiators were unleashed. Pacman could have gobbled up the enemy in the first round. Or the second. The third. But that would have short-changed the crowd.
Here?s one reason why. It happened with Randy Suico years back: Rica Paralejo was ready to go up on stage as the round card girl but because Kumong Bato downed his opponent in the first round, there was no sultry actress parading the ring.
Pacman knew that. Maybe. He understood that the testosterone-infested crowd wanted to see Diana Zubiri and Juliana Palermo, who both wore mini-skirts and short tube tops that had all the men?s tongues drooling.
So he toyed with 3K Battery. He diffused him. He short-circuited his wires. He took out some of the electrolytes inside that battery.
Then finally, with the crowd?s appetite full, the southpaw from the south unleashed a killer left hook that literally jumpstarted the 3K Battery. The Thai flew for a second on Manila air, then slammed down the canvas.
Then I looked at Jinkee, who jumped and screamed and finally shed a tear of triumph for her husband. I shook her hand and told myself, it?s good to be Filipino.
