The year 2014 can be considered as a roller-coaster ride for Philippine sports. While we have seen Gilas Pilipinas’ historic journey in the FIBA World Cup, our high expectations were shattered when they failed miserably in the Asian Games. Meanwhile, Manny Pacquiao is back, and with some extras on the side with his foray into the PBA.
Another mediocre Asian Games performance tainted our prides, but there were rays of hope that ensured the Philippines has what it takes to shine on the world stage. The emergence of Kobe Paras and the staging of the inaugural International Premier Tennis League are among those.
Check out the personalities, teams and events that made a significant impact for sports in 2014!
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Just when some observers started to count him out, Manny Pacquiao returned to his fiery form in 2014, hacking out two back-to-back wins over Timothy Bradley in April and Chris Algieri in November. But it was his annihilation of Algieri in Macau that best displayed the Manny of old – in a fight that saw Pacquiao flooring the American a total of six times en route to a lopsided win.
Pacquiao’s destruction of Algieri was the answer to questions about the Filipino’s purported lack of hunger and declining skills. For 12 rounds, the fighting congressman tried to put Algieri down for good, but the New Yorker was just one tough customer.
Now comes the big question: Will a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. finally happen? Pacquiao called out the undefeated American after beating Algieri, and he’s very vocal about it than ever before. Bob Arum and Freddie Roach said the wheels are turning and the megabout could be made in the next six months. We’re keeping our fingers crossed on this.
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