MANILA, Philippines – Boxing?s pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao just knows how to be a showstopper.
Pacquiao, who will face Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12, appeared a no-show at the start until he came in early in the fourth quarter of the dream Smart Ultimate All-Star Weekend game pitting a stellar NBA cast and Smart Gilas Pilipinas at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum.
As Pacquiao walked the sideline to sit beside Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas chief Manny Pangilinan, whose MVP Sports Foundation made this once-in-a-lifetime experience happen, the frantic crowd greeted him with chants of ?Manny! Manny! Manny!? amid the live action.
And when deadball finally came, Kobe Bryant, who played and coached the star-studded NBA motley crew, jogged from their bench to the other side to greet and shake hands with Pacquiao.
In response, Pacquiao, on white polo and jeans, walked to shake hands with the rest of the NBA players that included reigning MVP Derrick Rose, two-time scoring champion Kevin Durant and former Rookie of the Year Chris Paul.
There, the NBA players posed for pictures with the Filipino champion instead of the other way around and was given a chance to speak.
?Thank you for coming,? were the only clearer words heard amid the din of the noise that drowned his speech with shouts of ?Manny! Manny! Manny!? again.
When Paul, who?s an avid boxing fan and boxes himself while not playing ball, was asked by host Mo Twister how many round he will last, the player called CP3 readily answered: ?I wouldn?t last 15 seconds.?
And then Paul went to the centercourt shadow boxing as if gawding Pacquiao, who just ignored it and went back to his seat.
