SYDNEY?I saw the CNN interview of Manny Pacquiao in my room here at Four Seasons Hotel along busy George St. Pacquiao was also in a footage playing/coaching his Kia team in the Philippine Basketball Association at the Cubao Big Dome.
Kia wasn?t supposed to win as its opponent that day, San Miguel Beer, had just won the All-Filipino crown.
Kia won.
Someone in the dugout, gripping Pacquiao?s palm in the din of joy, said, ?The coach?s hand is as cold as ice.?
Pacquiao appearing on CNN was something that put the Filipino on the world map again. My heart skipped a beat or two watching the interview. How many Filipinos get to be interviewed on world TV, by CNN yet?
Watson smiled sincerely when Pacquiao said, ?Basketball coaching is more stressful than boxing.?
?I can believe him,? said Tomas C. Alvarez a.k.a. Boss Tom of Asian Carmakers Corporation. ?In basketball, you deal with so many minds. In boxing, you have only one person to deal with: the man in front of you atop the ring.?
Boss Tom or TCA, Bobong Santos and Demosthenes ?Bobby? Rosales and I were having steak dinner at Darling Harbor?s famed Nick?s. Bobby said he had also seen Pacquiao at CNN.
?I watched the interview, too, and I have to admire Pacquiao once more for his humility,? said Bobby, who spirited us away from the scheduled smart-casual dinner prepared by our gracious BMW hosts for BMW Golf Cup International World Final 2014 participants. ?He was composed and relaxed all the way.?
Then as we were into the homestretch of our rib-eye entr?e (TCA went for angus beef and prawns), Bobby, glancing wide-eyed at his cell phone, said, excitedly: ?Kia is up by 16 points with 1-1/2 minutes to go over Alaska!?
?That?s a sure win already,? boomed Bobong.
?Hey, hey,? said TCA. ?It ain?t over till the fat lady sings.?
As fate would have it, Kia beat Alaska 103-89 for its 4th win against 5 losses.
?A win over either NLEX or Rain or Shine will most likely advance Kia to the next round,? said Bobby, a Kia cog of note. ?Finally, Pacquiao?s patience with the team is slowly reaping its rewards.?
For now, however, the Kia players are again surely wallowing in extra bonuses?as usual, courtesy of Pacquiao.
?Typically Pacquiao,? said Bobby. ?Generous to a fault.?
