Treat Huey is Pinoy. His mother, a consultant of the United Nations, is Manina San Pedro-Huey. If you’re a tennis fan and watched one of the five Davis Cup ties held at the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa (thrice in 2013 and twice in 2011), then you must have seen Mr. Huey.
Here’s some good news: Treat (pronounced “Tret”) is in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. With partner Dominic Inglot, they defeated the seventh seeds (Bopanna/Qureshi) in the Men’s Doubles 4th round. Even better good news? Their next opponents are not the Bryan twins, Bob and Mike.
Huey and Inglot were en route to face the Bryans but, just yesterday, the American twins lost. It was their earliest exit in 11 years. Hurray! While I’m a fan of the Bryans, I’m a bigger fan of Treat. Here’s hoping that they broadcast their next match(es) on TV and that the Pinoy-British duo win three more matches to hoist that Aus-Open trophy.
On the Singles category, the twin shockers were Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova both losing. She had been dubbed Serena The Unbeatable. But against Ana Ivanovic, she became Serena The Beaten. It was refreshing to see the former world No. 1 from Serbia (Ivanovic) win a major fight. Since she won the French Open in 2008, Ana had been absent. She’s been on a decline. But after beating the local favorite Sam Stosur and Serena, she hopes to go all the way to the final this Sunday. Standing in her way in the Quarters today, the new favorite of my daughter Jana: Eugenie Bouchard, only 19 but with the looks and backhand to match Ivanovic.
Among the men, I wouldn’t bet against another Rafa Nadal and Nole Djokovic ending.
CEBU SPORTS AWARDS. Very soon, our group — the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) — will release the names of the awardees of the SAC-SMB Cebu Sports Awards. Led by our SAC president Rico Navarro, we had a meeting last week at the NL Cafe near SM City to deliberate on the nominees. The list includes world boxing champs, triathletes, ballplayers, martial artists, runners and more. Thanks to San Miguel Brewery, Inc. (led by Girlie Garces), we’ve jointly hosted this honoring of superstars every year. This March 2014 will be the 32nd edition.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL. If there’s one sport I’d love to watch live, it’s the NFL. Last Sunday in the U.S., they had the “semifinals.” The winners: the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. They’ll meet in the biggest sports night in America: the 48th edition of the Super Bowl. In the American Conference final, Denver defeated the New England Patriots. It was a contest between the two most popular quarterbacks: Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. In this rivalry, Manning led the Broncos with the winning score, 26-16. In the National Conference final, Seattle defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 23-17.
The Super Bowl is set on Feb. 2 in New York. Apart from an exciting game, the world can expect the most expensive TV advertisements to be aired and the best halftime show. The performers? Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
FLOYD. For now, Manny Pacquiao should just forget about Mayweather. He should just concentrate on his April 12 rematch bout against Timothy Bradley. Beat the undefeated (31-0) American convincingly, preferably before the 12th round, then see what happens next. The Manny-Money mega-fight will come at the right time. Now is not that moment.
Speaking of Pacman, I read Atty. Frank Malilong’s column last week about the Marco Polo Hotel dinner for a cause on Thursday night. The Sarangani congressman will share his life story. Tickets are reportedly selling for P1,800 to P2,200 with all the proceeds going to the Typhoon Yolanda rehabilitation efforts. The following day, according to Atty. Frank, the life sharing of Pacquiao will move to the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City.
From a wild and reckless previous life, Manny is now a changed man devoted to his constituents, boxing, family and God.
