Pacquiao's Stunning Loss is God's Glorifying Win

Philippians 3:7-8

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

Every time there's a Manny Pacquiao fight, traffic stops, crimes go down and Filipinos are excited and more hopeful. Young, old, men, women, the poor and the rich come together to watch Pacman bring glory to the Philippines. We are so used with Pacman winning game after game after game. We get to a point where we bet not on who's going to win but on which round will Pacman KO his opponent. 

But yesterday was a different story. In a stunning, shocking and an unbelievable twist, Pacman was caught off guard by Juan Manuel Marquez's winning counter punch. The People's Champ fell down. He was KOed at round 6. With Pacman's stunning loss, it seemed like we, as a country, also felt that brutal punch from Marquez. What just happened? It took a while longer for reality to sink in. People were crying, shouting in dismay and some just fell silent. In the cyber world, we all have something to say about the fight. Some were sad, angry and very disappointed. Thankfully, most people are still behind Pacquiao win or lose. 

Most of us could not believe that our champion was defeated. We thought Pacman was invincible. He's supposed to be the "Fighter of the Decade" and we expected him to win this one. This time around, our hero failed to meet our expectations. Why did he lose? Is it because he changed his religion? Or it could be that he did not train enough? Maybe Marquez trained harder than Pacman that's why he seemed leaner and stronger. Or was it just lucky punch?  We can speculate. We can justify. Or we can move on. 

In any kind of sports, there's always a winner and a loser. For this specific fight, Pacman is the loser and Marquez came out victorious. But does life ends when one loses? Does Pacman stop being the People's Champ because of one defeat? Is his legacy ruined because of this? I don't think so. The Filipino pride is intact. He still made us all proud when he accepted defeat graciously. He knows his story doesn't end here.      

Instead of walking out, Pacman smiled and congratulated Marquez. He got up with his honor and faith intact because despite his loss, he managed to give praise to God. He surrendered the results to God knowing that his loss is God's gain. When Pacman gave thanks to God and honored him on international television, he won the biggest battle ever. He may have lost some fans and supporters after this fight but he surely won God's stamp of approval.  

SEA Games 2011: Philippines on 6th Place - November 21, 2011

Barely one left before the 26th SEA Games 2011 come to an end on November 22, 2011. Sadly, we are only half-way close to Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Ritchie Garcia's prediction of at least 70 gold medal the Philippine Team will haul in.


The Philippine Team is currently in 6th place with 36 gold medals, 55 silvers and 76 bronzes.


Below is the official result medal tally for 26th Sea Games 2011 as of November 21, 2011:     

Courtesy of OFFICIAL MEDAL TALLY RESULT

We may not hit the 70 gold medals but we can keep pushing for more golds. As it is, I am extremely proud for the Filipino winners who once again brought honor to the country. 


I am especially excited and happy for Sinag Pilipinas. They proved yet again that they are undefeated in the Men's Basketball category beating Thailand with 85-57. The team sure is a ray of sunshine and they added to the Phillippines' pot of gold.    

Photo Courtesy of Facebook

Sea Games 2011 Medal Tally: Team Philippines has 8 Golds, 14 Silver, 20 Bronze Medals

As of November 15, 2011, Team Philippines has bagged 8 golds, 14 silver, and 20 bronze medals. 

Thanks to Marestella Torres, a long jumper, who successfully won the first gold medal for the country last Saturday morning. It was followed by another gold by the taekwondo team of Rani Ortega, Camille Alarilla and Janice Lagman. The third gold was brought in by Maria Camille Manalo for the under-62 kilogram female catergory of taekwondo. Rene Herrera added another gold to the loot. These along with two silvers and five bronzes. 

These are only some of the medals for the Philippine team. It is a total of 42 all in all which puts the Philippines on 6th place just behind Malaysia with 48 medals.

Indonesia, on the other hand, was on top of their game having collected a total of 146 medals. Of that, 60 are golds. Thailand is next with a total of 98 medals and a close third with 91 goes to Vietnam. While Singapore occupies the 4th spot with 67. 

For the winners, congratulations! You won because you were the best among your competitors.

The winners definitely brought honor to the country. But is 8 enough? Is 8 the best that we can do? If Indonesia can win as much as 146, I'm sure the Philippine team is just as able to do such a feat. We need to be more competitive,  more trained and more focused.

The good thing is, there's always next year. And I hope that it can only get better from here.

Team Philippines for Sea Games 2012!   

Unsatisfying Result: The Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez Fight

Photo Credit: Yahoo News

Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao was able to retain his World Boxing Organization welterweight title after a 12-round intense and extremely exciting exchange of punches between him and his opponent Juan Manuel Marquez.  

It was a close fight. It was a split decision among the judges. One called it a draw but judges Dave Moretti and Glenn Twobridge favored Pacquiao and thus declared him as winner.

There are a lot of buzz online and some were not satisfied with the results. It was supposed to be a rematch that will finally put an end to the claims of who is the real champ among the two boxers considering that their last two bouts years ago were clouded with controversies.

Marquez fans were furious with the decision which is understandable because it was indeed one close fight. Even Marquez walked out of the MGM Grand Garden Arena upon hearing the final decision.

I was expecting Pacquiao to knock Marquez on the floor and as some has predicted, it will be at either round 6 or 7. Apparently, Marquez did his homework and trained well. He gave "Pacman" a run for his money.

I am happy that Manny Pacquiao was still able to bring the honor to the Philippines but with all these controversies buzzing around, it's hard to be completely celebratory. There are issues of unfairness and who knows where this thing could lead to.

But for now, I just like to say, "Congrats Pacman!"

A Point to Prove: Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez 3

The much awaited fight between Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will be November 12, 2011 at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, a mere 24-hours away. The two fighters already faced off during their weigh ins last Friday. Marquez weighed in at 142 pounds while Pacquiao is a pound more at 143 pounds.

The millions of boxing followers especially the coven of fans of Manny Pacquiao will definitely be tuning in. I, myself, not a boxing fanatic is unusually excited for tomorrow. I know Manny Pacquiao can take him down but I'm open to the idea that maybe Marquez trained more than well and maybe, just maybe he had the stamina to knock out the Great Pacman. If that ever happens, that would indeed be interesting.

This is the third time these two boxing giants face each other in the boxing ring. The last two encounters was on 2004 where the fight was a draw and 2008 where Manny Pacquiao was declared as winner in a split decision. Marquez claims he won both fights and at tomorrows fight, he is in it to claim his "rightful" crown but will the fast and monstrous boxing champ, Manny Pacquiao let him do that? Manny, on the other hand, is fighting to erase any doubts that indeed, he is the true winner. Each one is out to prove a point. The question is, whose point is going to be proven right tomorrow?

We will have to wait and see.

But for me, the real question really is, "What round, Manny?" Some predict it at around round six or seven. Whether that will be true....

We will have to wait and see. Go Manny!