THE heat caused by a blazing summer sun was the only hitch that marred the just-ended Palarong Pambansa in Pangasinan?if one would consider heat a hitch.
I wouldn?t.
Practically all across the archipelago, except of course Baguio, Tagaytay and other places up the mountains, heat has become a bane brought on by an unusually hot summer.
But still, it didn?t cause much harm on the ?Palaro? as the games plodded on for a week ending May 12?with smashing success that virtually the entire sporting world is still oozing with praise from all sectors of society two days after.
Kudos are, therefore, in place for Gov. Amado Espino Jr. of Pangasinan, whose principled leadership ensured a harmonious Palaro as though it was a philharmonic orchestra that had been conducted so well by the man wielding the baton: Guv Spines, who else?
Records had been broken and some dreams had been half-fulfilled, but the primordial consideration at the end of the day was that friendships had been forged between protagonists and officials alike because, after all, that is what every competition ought to be: That it is not in the winning, but in the competing; it is not how one finished the contest, but how one conducted himself/herself during the contest.
While the gold medal is the ultimate dream, it is in how you fought the fight that would matter in the end.
I also wish to extend my congratulations to the Guv?s Men, especially Raffy Baraan, Butch Velasco and Modesto Operania, among others, who played their roles to the hilt to help ensure a trouble-free Palaro. And, of course, one lady stood 10 feet tall during the Games: Elsa Elduayan, the Provincial Tourism chief who did more than her share in making the stay of every athlete, official and visitor extra comfortable and super worthwhile during the entirety of the Palaro.
I am a Pangasinense and I cringed a bit at my inability to be present at the Palaro and I cried a bit at not being able to be in the midst of action during the momentous event that happens only once a year. Pressure of work in the Big City was the culprit. And some family matters, too, some so sensitive, that I just couldn?t leave behind. Sorry, indeed.
The first time I covered the Palaro when I was still a sportswriter for the Bulletin, which was in 1977 in Lucena City, I immediately fell in love with the games reserved for 18 and below from the public elementary and high schools all over the land.
To all those present in Pangasinan during the Palaro, please bring home the fond memories and leave behind the foul memories.
Some of you may not have achieved your goals, but emerge a better person from all the encounters. As I keep saying, it is not in the rising but in the falling.
Be not a winner in the literal sense of the word but instead, be wiser from every battle that you go into always. As the saying goes, ?Failure is the mother of success.? That is the only way to nail that elusive dream.
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PACQUIAO VS BRADLEY. The odds remain at 3-1 in favor of Manny Pacquiao barely four weeks before the PacMan fights Timothy Bradley on June 10 (Manila Time) at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada. That will surely rise as days go by since Bradley, for one, has nothing but a 28-0 record to boast of. For another, that mark does not include fighters of note. Bradley?s 12 knockout victims were virtually unknown, except Joel Casamayor. But Casamayor, at nearly 40, was definitely over-the-hill and lost to Bradley by knockout in November 2011.
?I?m warning Pacquiao,? said Bob Arum. ?I?ve just seen Bradley in training and he looks formidable.?
Of course, almost everybody looks daunting while training at the gym. Wait till he comes up the ring on fight night.
To all boxers when the moment of truth has come?that?s the time when boys are separated from men.
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ALL IN. Sonny Guerrero and Raymond Rodriguez, two top guns at Toyota Motor Philippines, said they believe Manny Pacquiao will finally win by knockout. ?Hatton went down in two and yet, despite Bradley?s 28-0 record, Bradley looks an easier customer to dispatch than Hatton. Like you, Al, I see a Pacquiao victory by knockout,? Raymond said. For his part, Sonny said, ?If Bradley won?t run as he had promised, then Pacquiao is poised to finally win by knockout after four successive wins on points.? I can only nod in agreement, fellas.
