Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

Cebu City Marathon And The Running Fever

There is a virus that’s plaguing our city. It’s not the A-H1N1 strain or the Dengue fever scare. It’s more widespread and thousands are afflicted. All types of bodies have been stricken: 73-year-olds, college girls, Sun.Star online editor Max Limpag, CEOs, doctors, Donna Cruz-Larrazabal, lawyers…

The good news is, this virus is healthy and invigorating. Running, it’s called, and, for the past three years, dozens upon hundreds upon thousands have bought New Balance shoes, worn Nike Dri-Fit wear, purchased Garmin GPS watches, laced Adidas Supernova soles, traveled to Singapore or Chicago or Hong Kong to pound their two God-given legs from Start to Finish Line.

With Manny Pacqiuao, it’s not where, but how

Freddie Roach’s request was denied. He’d chosen Mexico as training ground and it’s been disapproved by The Boss. Does this matter? Will Pacman’s focus suffer? Given his decision to house himself up in The City of Pines, will he be less brutal come Nov. 14?

I’m not worried. Same with Manny. He’s not. We all shouldn’t be. The reason: It’s less the “where” than the “how.” Sure, there will be distractions. Sure, Manny will fly out of Baguio on some Saturday nights and do whatever he wants until Sunday dawn. Yet, to me, these are negligible.

What’s most essential is “how.” And, haven’t we seen it over and over again, how Manny, when he starts training, pours himself totally, tirelessly, with indefatigable effort?

Bruce Lee in Boxing Shorts

He wore red, high-cut boots by Nike with the words “PACQUIAO” and “MANNY” etched at the back. His black shorts were printed with yellow flames. A gray sleeveless Nike shirt covered his chest while a green pair of gloves wrapped his hands.

Last Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., accompanied by the country’s top boxing writer—Salven Lagumbay of philboxing.com and the Philippine Daily Inquirer—I stepped inside RP’s most famous gym today, owned by Rex “Wakee” Salud.

Manny Pacquiao had just finished 10 rounds of sparring. Tired? Did he look fatigued? No. How about recharged? Or pumped-up? For one-and-a-half hours, I observed Manny. After sparring, Manny stepped down the ring then proceeded to pummel the double-end bag. He stared at the round leather that hung from the ceiling, encircled it, threw quick jabs, moved his head left, ducked, stepped back, forward.

Frederic Chiongbian’s Ace

Congratulations to Frederic Chiongbian for scoring his first-ever hole-in-one last Tuesday at the 15th hole of the Cebu Country Club. After besting his flight-mates Toby Florendo, Gabriel Yap, Jr., Eric Deen and Jovi Neri with a birdie on Hole No. 14, Frederic, who’s played golf since he was 12 years old, next nailed the rare feat.

For more… cccjungolf.multiply.com

Not contented with walking on the golf course, Frederic will run the Quezon City Intl. Marathon this Oct. 18. That will be his third 42K race after completing the Singapore and Hong Kong marathons.

Roger vs. Rafa: Who will win the US Open?

It’s the US Open! What’s my biggest tennis wish? That two 6-foot-1 Nike endorsers will meet in the finals. You see, every time Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal meet, it’s like a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. It’s like the Lakers vs. Celtics, the Yankees vs. Red Sox, La Salle against Ateneo. It’s a blockbuster movie. Only this time, it’s not reel but for real.

My opinion? It won’t happen. Rafa was injured and out of the ATP Tour for two months. That’s like asking Charice Pempengco to tape her mouth for 12 months. She’ll rust. And, yes, Rafa is rusty. Mr. Federer? Ah, he’s far from dusty. Like a gleaming Rolex watch that he wears on his left wrist, the Swiss is glossy and sparkling.

Baguio or Mexico? I’d listen to Coach Roach

Freddie with Atty. Jingo Quijano

The Phil Jackson of boxing, the three-time Trainer of the Year who’s trained Mike Tyson, Bernard Hopkins, Gerry Peñalosa and actor Mickey Rourke, is “pissed.” They treat me, he says, like “sh*#.”

His nickname, interestingly, is “Choir Boy” and, since he’s done a duet with the Greatest Filipino Sportsman Of All Time, they’ve produced perfect music together. Diaz. Marquez. Barrera. De La Hoya. Morales. Hatton. Name it, the Pacquaio-Roach one-two duet today is like the Phil Jackson-Michael Jordan duo of the 1990s.

Noy Jopson is RP’s swim-bike-run Ironman champ

Sunday last week, over 550 participants from 23 countries joined the Ironman 70.3 race in Camarines Sur. That’s a 1.9-km. swim, a 90K bike and a half-marathon (21-km.) run. Of all the Filipinos who participated in that triathlon, one man crossed that finish line first: Nonoy Jopson.

How different, I asked Noy, was this race compared to the others he’s joined before? “It was one of the best organized races I’ve done,” Nonoy replied. “There were buoys and inflatables all over the swim course, marshals in the bike and run, aid stations were stocked with Gatorade, water, fruit, gels, sponges, you name it. On the run, in that heat, having the aid mostly every 1K saved my race and, I’m sure, the races of so many.