MANNY Pacquiao wore red. He donned a red polo shirt with a white horizontal stripe. It was tucked out. He wore black slacks and slipped on black leather shoes. On his wrist glittered a gold watch, presumably Rolex. What?s jewelry worth P200,000 if two months ago you hit the P100 million jackpot in Las Vegas?
Jinky wore red. She wore the same red shirt as her husband. Only hers was Lacoste, paired with blue jeans and a diamond-studded watch. That, too, was red.
The couple sat at the balcony. Two men stood behind. Bodyguards? No, no, no. They were assistants from the nearby City Hall to fan the couple using native paypay.
Good for the Pacquaios. Lucky for them. Because while up the balcony they were cool, down below was hell.
I wore a thin, collarless shirt but was still drenched in sweat as if I had just come out of the YMCA swimming pool. Did anyone think I made pee in my pants?
WATER BABY. Lawyer Aven Piramide sat two seats to my right. He, too, looked like he just emerged off the waters of Hilotongan.
Sammy Gello-ani, Cebu boxing?s ?Don King,? sat right in front of me in the front row. I could see his short-sleeves polo shirt turn from light blue (at the start) to navy blue (midway) to very dark blue (end).
That?s how hot the Lapu-Lapu Cultural and Sports Complex was last Wednesday night for the ?Kadaugan Sa Mactan III.?
Why so hot?
Blame the 5,000 mouths that screamed and jampacked the stadium.
Why so full?
For one, to see Randy ?Kumo?ng Bato? Suico pummel his Thai opponent Muangfahlek Kiatwichien in the fourth round.
Two, fans paid hundreds per ticket to see Yukka ?Wiseguy? Gejon clobber his Thai opponent in the second round.
But want to know the real reason why that night the city might as well have been called ?steamed Lapu-Lapu??
I know. I sat two rows from the ring but couldn?t find the answer there. Then I looked up. Aha! There I found the answer: the boxer and his wife. They?re red hot.
Listen to this.
Right after Suico unleashed a flurry of right and left bombs that had the opponent embracing the floor like it were his Thailand bed, Manny was called up the ring for the awarding.
What a sight.
Men and women so happy. Yes. Happy. Jumping up and down. Throwing fists to the ceiling. Shouting ?Man-ny! Pak-yaw!? till throats ran dry.
Here?s more.
After Manny handed the golden belt to Suico, I saw a sight I hadn?t seen before.
I saw a lady, clad in jeans and white shirt, run from the stands to climb the ring. No security stopped her.
So, she ran straight to Manny, leaned towards his ear and whispered.
He nodded.
She sprinted down, jolted her husband then plucked him out from his seat. They climbed up and ran center. She pulled out a camera as the husband stood beside Manny and grinned as if he were world champ.
?Ka baga?g nawong, uy (She?s shameless)!? shouted a man from behind.
?Bahala na (It doesn?t matter),? another replied, ?basta lang ma ka pa-picture kay (as long as you get to pose with Manny for a picture).?
To me, watching Manny Pacquiao that day, you were watching more than Manny Pacquiao.
You were watching the most famous man to come out of General Santos City. You were watching a man who would be elected senator if he ran tomorrow. You were watching a hit bigger than any ABS-CBN or GMA-7 star, be he Piolo or Richard.
Think of it. And think hard.
Is there anyone among us 86 million Filipinos who is more deserving the title ?hero? than Manny? To Cebuanos, certainly none.
Here?s what happened last Wednesday.
Manny and Jinky arrived at the Mactan airport at 12:40 in the afternoon. He was mobbed. Passengers. Police officers. Travel guides.
The couple, accompanied by promoter Rex ?Wakee? Salud, sped to Ching Palace for lunch. He was mobbed. Cooks. Waiters. Diners. The giant fish looking from his aquarium window, I am told, even wondered how someone could be so popular.
Next, a City-Hall invasion.
There, the Council session stopped in the middle to welcome ?The Destroyer.?
True enough, Vice Mayor Mike Rama banged the gavel so hard to bring back order to the house that he almost destroyed it.
I told you, he?s The Destroyer.
Next up, the local bigwigs.
Mayor Teddy Ouano saluted him and shook his hand like he was president of the Manny Pacquiao Fans Club.
Mayor Arturo Radaza sat beside him the whole fight at the Lapu-Lapu Complex.
Mayor Tommy Osme?a? Never known to smile a toothful grin, he did just that when the two had a photo taken. He even offered Manny the title, ?Adopted Son of Cebu.?
How about me? Star-struck?
Early Wednesday afternoon, my cell phone rang.
UP CLASSMATE. ?Bai,? the voice was familiar. It was Salven Lagumbay, my UP College classmate and now the top boxing scribe at The Inquirer and CDN. ?Guess who I?m with??
?Who??
?Manny Pacquiao.?
?Wow! Really??
?Want to join us? I?m at Ching Palace having lunch with him.?
Sayang, I told Salven, I could not. Had an important meeting at that time. But come to think of it, better I didn?t go. Why?
This I can imagine. Sitting beside Manny, my face would turn red. I?d be sweating. You know how one looks like when he?s red and sweating?
Like steamed Lapu-Lapu.
