Pacquiao wins, making Filipinos so proud!

For tonight's show on Straight from the Sky, we bring to your TV screens a successful Filipino doctor who has made it big in the United States. We're blessed and honored to have on the show Dr. Jaime Soriano, a cardiovascular surgeon who has two clinics in New Jersey. Dr. Soriano is the brother-in-law of Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann delos Santos and our friend Pocholo delos Santos. Dr. Soriano gives us an idea of the medical practice in the United States, like why there's no exodus of Pinoy doctors going there and why there's a huge demand for Pinoy nurses to the US? It's one very interesting interview so see him tonight on SkyCable's channel 15 at 8:00 p.m.

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It's only January and we've already witnessed the greatest sporting event for the entire year 2006. I'm sure that the whole nation was glued over their television or radios watching or hearing the sporting event that ground the whole nation into a halt... that's the dramatic rematch of Manny "Super Pacman" Pacquiao against three-time World Super Featherweight Champion Erik "El Terrible" Morales live on satellite TV and radio.

I watched this fight on Solar Sports, which was delayed for about 40 minutes and had to agonize to the usual flood of advertisements they show in between rounds... but it was still worth it. While a lot of our friends watched it at the SM Cinemas or in Tequilla Joe's in Ayala; I opted to stay home and played with my family watching the fight like most Filipino families did.

Since I'm not a sports writer, I don't have to recount everything that happened in this fight; you can read all that in the sports pages. But yes, the 128-lbs Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao of General Santos City won his rematch against Erik Morales in the Super Featherweight Division at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas in just 10 very intense and exciting rounds.

The 10th round knockout win by Pacquiao gave Morales his first knockdown in his 51-fight career. You could see the jubilation of the crowd around the ring and without a doubt this was duplicated in every living room throughout the Philippine archipelago and all the boxing fans throughout the world. One thing I can say about the two boxers, they are true sportsmen, where after they are separated, they still greet each other with a tap on their gloves. Their two fights will now go into the annals of World Boxing history as one of the greatest boxing matches in the world!

Once more, Manny Pacquiao has created a legend for himself in World Boxing and will walk with the status of a Super Mega Star, Sports Icon and national hero rolled into one. Indeed it is a proud day for Filipinos all around the world because a Filipino boxer who lost his bid last March 2005 has now gotten his sweet revenge! On top of the nation's accolades, Manny Pacquiao is now US$2 million dollars richer! I'm also sure that hundreds of thousand of gamblers are now enjoying their winnings, while those who had no faith in Pacquiao will have to shell out for they've lost miserably. Personally, I had faith that Pacquiao stood a better chance than last year in winning over Morales this time around and Pacquiao proved it with all bravado. So now, Pacquiao is set to aim higher to fight Barrera, which I'm sure he'll ever train harder for. But meanwhile, we Filipinos all bask in his glory... after all, we've always believed in that dictum, "Defeat is a lonely orphan, while Victory has a thousand fathers!" We commiserated with Manny Pacquiao when he lost to Morales last year... but this time around, we all share with his glory!

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Last Saturday's 40th "Ruby" Reunion of the University of San Carlos Boy's High School (USC-BHS) Class '66 was a stunning success with 63 classmates in attendance out of the 132 classmates we had back in 1966. We also learned that out of this number, we've lost 19 classmates, who've gone to the great beyond. The reunion was held at the palatial office of our classmate Florentino "Boboy" Atillo III right across the Film Academy in Mactan. I was indeed heartwarming to see all your old classmates 40 years later and compare their faces from the old pictures of our yearbook.

Our guest speaker was no less than Fr. Roderick Salazar who gave the former Carolinians a history of USC and the Society of the Divine Word. More importantly, that our reunion fell right within the 70 year celebration of the SVD in San Carlos. As part of the ceremony, we had a memoriam for the 19 classmates who have already passed away, of which Fr. Rod Salazar helped us with a very solemn prayer. Thanks to our friends and classmates, Alex Chiongbian, Jr. Rey Aya-ay, Nepomuceno Tan, Bill Uybengkee, Bing Avila, Harry Limtong, Quito Fararrons and Boboy Atillo for making the reunion a complete success. Thanks also to Jaime Picornell, Honey Loop & Mayen Tan for being there!

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