Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 14 | Page 28

28 SPORTS PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY July 16 - 31 , 2018

SPECTATOR

By Al Mendoza

Matthysse ’ s masterpiece performance

WHO said Manny Pacquiao is bound for pastureland ? Think again , fellas . In scoring his 60th victory ( 39 knockouts ) on July 15 over defending world welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse of Argentina , it could only mean one thing : He can still hack it . He isn ’ t finished boxing . He isn ’ t old even he is turning 40 on December 17 .
Definitely , an overjoyed Manny Pacquiao would have been absolutely justified if he had admitted during the post-fight interview that this was his sweetest win in almost a decade
Why , because a loss would have meant virtual retirement for him . At 39 , and to be dealt a second straight defeat after bowing to that Australian unknown Jeff Horn on July 1 , 2017 , it would have signaled the sorry ending to one of the sweetest sagas in world boxing . A loss would have delivered through DHL Express the unmistakable message that there is no more reason for Pacquiao to stay even a minute longer atop the ring .
Thus , literally , the Sunday victory
— a knockout win no less — gave Pacquiao the impetus to continue fighting as that triumph was an obviously emphatic signal of the coming of his second wind .
The validation came from no less than Pacquiao , when he said minutes after the fight in Kuala Lumpur : “ This win means I am still good for two , even three , more fights .” Or words to that effect .
Suddenly , Pacquiao was Bernard Hopkins , who was still winning at age 50 to include world title fights he had snatched even when he was 45 , 46 , already .
Suddenly , the PAL-flown Pacquiao was Superman . Again .
The win on Sunday was Pacquiao ’ s first knockout triumph since he scored his last stoppage almost 10 years back , when he halted Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto in the 12th round in 2009 .
During that 9-year span , Pacquiao was 9-4 ( win-loss ), a lackluster record marred by that pride-pricking 6th-round knockout loss to arch nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez of
Mexico in 2012 . Stunningly , if not miraculously ,
Pacquiao , at 39 , is back on top .
But for all the much-ballyhooed beauty of Pacquiao ’ s 7th-round knockout of Matthysse , some questions cry for answers .
One , why was Matthysse a bit slow , lacking in grit and reduced to embracing a fighting style that was in complete contrast to his profile flashed to the world in the run-up to the fight ? Where was his vaunted knockout power in his right ?
Two , why did he kneel in the fifth round , essentially gifting Pacquiao with one precious knockdown to virtually surrender the fight ? Didn ’ t Matthysse succumb already to a knockdown in the third , allowing Pacquiao to nurse an almost insurmountable four-point lead in the 12-round bout ?
And three , Matthysse ’ s “ falling ,” and next kneeling down yet again , a third time in the seventh appeared more of a delayed knockdown than anything . Maybe , referee Kenny Bayless was forced to wave Matthysse out for a TKO loss because the Argentinian seemed to be making a mockery
of the fight ? Bayless ’ s action in effect saved the dignity of the sport called affectionately as the “ sweet science .”
As the crown holder , Matthysse was brandishing , boasting of , 36 knockouts in 39 wins going into the fight . He owned a right straight touted as strong enough to transform an Argentinian cow into instant corned beef with one blow . But why did we not see even one punch thrown , laudable and recognizable enough to hurt a fly in nearly 21 minutes of the fight ?
Nice quote from you , Matthysse . “ You win some and you lose some .” From Matthysse , heavily-tattooed , you are now Masterpiece .
For losing to Pacquiao and getting paid $ 2 million no less , Evita is now turning in her grave for one soul not crying for Argentina .
After kneeling down three times , Matthysse got up and quickly made a dash to the bank .
Next , he ’ ll get a new tattoo ? Theface of Pacquiao on his chest ?
To be thankful is to be not a fool .

Warning : Golden State Warriors are still hungry

“ We ’ re still really hungry .”
This , NBA champions Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob declared by way of reacting to the issue that his team is ruining the world ’ s oldest and biggest pro-basketball league .
In a feature article written by Ethan Strauss of The Athletic on Monday , Lacob addressed the backlash over the Warriors ’ signing of DeMarcus Cousins this summer .
“ There ’ s a lot of market inefficiencies in the NBA ,” Lacob stressed . “ Other teams could have gotten Cousins , but they didn ’ t . There ’ s always going to be some sort of opportunity , some inefficiency , I believe .”
Lacob then went on to issue an ominous warning to the rest of the league : “ We ’ re still really hungry . And that ’ s what people should be worried about if they ’ re going to be worried about anything .”
The Warriors do deserve credit for building a championship culture from the ground up . But they did indeed benefit from certain market factors in landing both Kevin Durant two summers ago and Cousins this summer .
Lacob , who is known for gassing up his team almost to the point that it ’ s off-putting , if his frightening assertion that the Warriors are still hungry after back-to-back titles and three in the last four seasons is correct , the leap to full-fledged dynasty
By EDDIE G . ALINEA might not be far off .
Meanwhile , Durant whose Warriors and the Boston Celtics might very well meet up in next year ’ s NBA Finals , were seen hanging out at Wet Republic in Las Vegas over the weekend fuelling speculations that the two superstars might be playing for one team in the near future .
Both Durant and Irving will hit free agency after next season . Irving himself has signified interest in wanting to play for the New York Knicks . Separate reports also suggested that the Knicks could be a potential landing spot for Durant is not that remote a possibility .
Durant is known to be a party boy . The two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP taking shots while enjoying his summer in Vegas isn ’ t really news but hanging out with Mr . Irving could be .
Irving ’ s girlfriend , Chantel Jeffries , was the DJ for this exclusive event . Meanwhile , Durant was seen hanging out with model Jocelyn Chew . That could very well start another round of rumors .
Carmelo Anthony , who was recently traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks and subsequently waived , is set to become a member of the Houston Rockets for the veteran ’ s minimum of $ 2.4 million for the season .
It ’ s a move initiated by Houston ’ s current stars , particularly reigning league MVP James Harden and was expected by the league ’ s insiders . While Anthony is coming off a rough season , it ’ s a move that could bring some good to Houston , but there are plenty of reasons that this could go terribly , too .
The jump looks already a win for the Rockets , who have a bit of a void to fill with Trevor Ariza leaving for Phoenix and Luc Mbah a Moute leaving for the Clippers — both on free agency .
Melo , thus , becomes another wing to help space the floor for the Harden-Paul-Clint Capela core . While on paper , Anthony to Houston seems like things may go a bit easier than his
WWW . PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY . COM year in Oklahoma City , there are still quite a few questions to be answered on both ends of the floor .
The most glaring questions , obviously , come on the defensive end of the floor — especially now with both Ariza and Mbah a Moute gone . When healthy , both players gave Houston the defensive flexibility to switch everything . Houston produced the sixth most efficient defense last year and pushed the Warriors to seven games in the Western Conference Finals .
Melo , on the other hand , was one of the NBA ’ s worst defenders last season , and at 34-years-old , we can ’ t expect any real jumps on that end . The Thunder lost to Utah in six games in large part because of Anthony ’ s struggles on the defensive end .
Offensively , Anthony wasn ’ t any better in the postseason , scoring just under 12 per game on 37.5 percent shooting . He shot 21 percent from three while posting the highest 3- point attempt rate of his postseason career .
And what about Rockets head coach Mike D ’ Antoni ’ s and Anthony ’ s very public disagreements about how the team should be run while they were in New York together . Anthony wanted to play a “ clear it out , let me do what I do ” offense while D ’ Antoni was very much interested in ball movement , space and pace .