Manny on BBC World Service

In case you haven’t heard, newly crowned WBC superwelterweight champion and the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Rep. Manny Pacquiao is the subject of a two-part audio documentary accessible as a podcast via the BBC World Service website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/2010/09/100928_documentary_manny_pacquiao.shtml).

The first part was launched last Friday and transmitted thrice on radio during the day. There was no excuse to miss listening in. Aside from radio, the documentary was available live online (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/audioconsole/?stream=live) and through download/stream podcasts (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/). You can still tune in to hear the first part on the BBC World Service website.

BBC World Service senior content producer Lyndon Saunders and boxing correspondent Mike Costello did a good job tracking Pacquiao, Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s relatives and friends, boxing trainers, analysts, economists and politicians “to discuss boxing, God, politics and the inspiration one man can give to a nation.”

Obviously, Saunders and Costello flew in from London intrigued by the Pacquiao phenomenon. No fighter in history has duplicated or surpassed Pacquiao’s feat of capturing eight world titles in eight weight divisions. No fighter in history has been elected into a high government position as a legislator while active in the ring. And no fighter in history has mesmerized a global audience quite like Pacquiao. Saunders and Costello collaborated to produce a two-part documentary to unravel the Pacquiao enigma.

The second part airs on Friday, Dec. 3, and will be available as a podcast starting that day.

One of those interviewed by Saunders and Costello for the documentary was professor Alex Magno who described Pacquiao as “the male Cinderella, the ugly duckling who’s wearing diamonds around his neck.... He holds the eternal promise the last will be first and the poor will be saved.” Magno added, “Pacquiao, I think, will try very hard to make a difference but in the end and unless he’s part of a reformist political party or he speaks for a new generation of leaders, he won’t matter. He’ll be the pretty face, the likeable popular guy, the people’s champion but the system will go on as usual.”

Roach was also tapped for insights. He said: “Manny came up to me and he said, I miss my job. And I looked at him and I says, you’re at your job and he says no, I miss Congress and I says, you know what, we’re going to lose him to politics for sure, someday soon.” Roach added: “The only welfare system they have in the Philippines right now is Manny Pacquiao. In front of his house on Christmas day, there’s over 5,000 people who are waiting for him to give rice and food and so forth so they can survive.... He came from a bad life, he knows what it’s like to be poor, he knows what it’s like to go buy doughnuts for five cents and sell them on the street for 10 cents, just so he can eat. I think he’s going to be very good at his job.”

Pacquiao’s boyhood pal and second to Roach in his training hierarchy Buboy Fernandez shared invaluable stories from real-life experiences. He recalled growing up with Pacquiao in General Santos City. “I cry, I sleep with a small box, carton,” said Fernandez. “If the water gets high tide, my home’s gone, just like the water here and then we sleep in trees. Manny’s thinking, dreaming. He said, ‘Someday, I’m going to be champion and if I success my career, I come back here and then bring you.’ It’s too much for me that he taking me from the down to bring me up, the first time that I sleep in the big room is MGM. And then Manny said, ‘Eh, come on now, see this presidential suite.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I think we’re going to put here a basketball court.”

Saunders and Costello pinned down Pacquiao to relate his own story. “I love the Filipino people and I’m not only doing this for myself, for family, but I’m doing this also because of the honor of our country and the honor of the Filipino people,” he said in the documentary. “My fear is if I forget to pray to God – that’s my fear. But as I always pray to God and believe in God, I don’t have fear. I live my life like every day’s the last.”

Saunders and Costello arrived in Manila to conduct interviews for the documentary while Pacquiao was in Baguio City training for the Antonio Margarito fight.

“The Philippines is an incredible and complex country to visit and to get to understand in a short space of time,” said Saunders. “Our aim was to gain and reflect some understanding of the place, its people and the politics through the enormous fame and incredible story of Manny Pacquiao and so I really hope we’ve done that a degree of justice in these two programs. Impartiality aside for one moment, huge congratulations to Manny for his incredible eighth world title victory!”

It looks like Saunders and Costello are the latest converts to Pacquiao’s growing legion of foreign fans. Don’t miss the two-part documentary. You’ll learn things and insights about Pacquiao never before revealed in media.

* * * *

Only 17 games are left in the schedule of the PBA Philippine Cup inter-intra eliminations. The last two teams in the standings will be booted out of contention with the eight survivors advancing to the playoffs. The No. 1 placer gains a twice-to-beat advantage against No. 8 and No. 2 a similar twice-to-beat edge against No. 7 in separate playoff pairings. In other playoff duels, No. 3 will battle No. 6 and No. 4 will face No. 5 in best-of-three series. Winners of the four pairings will square off in the best-of-seven semifinals.

If the eliminations ended today, San Miguel Beer will meet Air21 with a twice-to-beat advantage and Barangay Ginebra will tangle with Rain Or Shine with a twice-to-beat edge. No. 3 Talk ‘N’ Text will engage No. 6 Alaska and No. 4 B-Meg will tackle No. 5 Meralco in a pair of best-of-three series. Out will be Powerade and Barako Bull.

In the remaining elimination schedule, dates to mark in your calendar for must-see games are today (Ginebra vs B-Meg), Dec. 5 (San Miguel vs Alaska), Dec. 8 (Air 21 vs Rain Or Shine), Dec. 10 (Ginebra vs Talk ‘N’ Text) and Dec. 15 (Meralco vs Rain Or Shine).