A time to heal

SINGAPORE – At 28 degrees C (about 83 F) when we arrived the other day, the weather in this city is kinder at this time of the year compared to Manila’s sweltering 36.8 C. The huge Changi airport, one’s first contact with this city-state of five million people (a great number of whom are expatriates), makes one more envious of Singaporean efficiency.

The day after we arrived, we got hold of The Straits Times to see its Saturday’s sports section dominated by the Thomas Cup in New Delhi. The world championship of badminton, a sport that still has to really find its place in the Philippines, but is of great interest to Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The headline, “China Suffer Shock Thomas Cup Exit”, speaks a mouthful about how China has dominated the world team championships for men.

As stated in the Straits account, China was expected to stroll through the semifinals and collect its sixth consecutive trophy. After all, the badminton powerhouses had given up just three games in 18 matches before meeting Japan in the last four (the other day). Instead, they were given a thrashing, losing 0-3 – and winning just one game – their worst finish in the biennial tournament since the 2002 Guangzhou edition where they were also losing semi-finalists.

To atone for this shocking upset, the Chinese women’s team retained, less than 24 hours later, its Uber Cup against Japan, the same opponent that frustrated the Chinese men in the Thomas Cup. China won over Japan, 4-1.

Four of the eight pages of Straits sports are about the ongoing Champions League in Madrid that features an epic battle between Spanish football teams, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

The next day, Sunday, The Straits named six players who it says could pull upsets or shockers in the French Open: on the men’s side, Stanislas Wawrinka (27) of Switzerland, Kei Nishikori (24) of Japan and Grigor Dimitrov (23) of Bulgaria (and boyfriend of Maria Sharapova); while on the women’s group, these are, Simona Halep (22) of Romania, Ana Ivanovic (26) of Serbia and Sara Errani (26) of Italy.

A half page spread has Rory McIlroy right smack in the center completing a swing during the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth, UK. The story has the proper mix of sport, drama, romance and telenovela stuff: “Rory McIlroy went into the (Championship) with concerns over his mental fragility, not only because his emotions are raw following the breakdown of his relationship with (tennis star) Caroline Wozniacki but because Wentworth has not been a happy hunting ground in recent years.

But what caught our attention was an article in the lower right hand side, below the fold, of the widely circulated broadsheet. It would have merited greater prominence in boxing-crazy Philippines and because it’s about Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather but not in football territory like Singapore. In gist, the article, stated that Top Rank’s Bob Arum declared in Los Angeles that Pacquiao and Mayweather would square off in 2016.

If that fight happens in 2016, Pacquiao would be 37 by then and Mayweather 40 years old. That is certainly a much awaited fight that could settle the unofficial title of top pound-for-pound boxer, although we would have thought that Muhammad Ali was in a class all by himself, especially in his prime.

Putting the fight together two years from now rests on the premise that neither fighter would suffer serious setbacks that would douse cold water on this hot possibility. Pacquiao is looking for hefty paychecks as he looks forward to settling possible obligations with tax authorities and to bankroll what appears to be a serious run for the Senate. Juan Manuel Marquez would be a big draw although we would think fighting him is too risky.

Pacquiao has transformed himself from a slugger to a cautious boxer not intent in running roughshod over the opposition through his punching power but in simply out boxing the opponent through hand and foot speed and guile. His next opponent could be Ruslan Provodnikov and, if Amir Khan doesn’t get into the ring with Mayweather this year, a fight with the former is also possible.

Mayweather is running out of credible opponents. Mayweather had trouble with Marcos Maidana’s bullying and pressure tactics in the earlier rounds and that could be the formula to stain Moneyman’s immaculate record. We tend to agree that a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is inevitable – both fighters know that there are few options left.

To round off our weekend, my wife Margie and I went to the Australian International School in Lorong Chuan where our grandchildren, Miguel and Rafael Villanueva (sons of Bryan Villanueva and our daughter Dinggay) played for their school, United World College (UWC), in the Community Basketball League with kids of other expats. Among their teammates were Gabriel Zamora (son of Ruben and Anna) and Nic and Anthony Romanelli (sons of Domenic who has an IT outfit in Global City. The youngest Villanueva in UWC, Gabriel, watched in the sidelines to cheer on his kuyas.

Certainly, the trip was a welcome break from all the political turmoil back home and a time to reflect and to heal.