22
Philippine Showbiz Today
October March
22 - November
22 - April 7, 2017
2019
Pacquiao could fight Spence next
In the absence of a clear
indication from Floyd Mayweather
Jr., Manny Pacquiao just might
settle for Errol Spence Jr. as his
next foe.
It may not necessarily be the
big blockbuster fight the 40-year-
old Pacquiao is chasing this late in
his career, but it will prove that the
Filipino global superstar is ready
to take on anybody.
Pacquiao was at ringside
Saturday evening and saw for
himself how Spence scored a
convincing decision over Mikey
Garcia at AT&T Stadium in
Arlington, Texas.
When Spence invited him to
the ring after the fight, for possible
square off in July, Pacquiao
gamely quipped “Why not? We
will give the fans a good fight.”
“I’m so happy to be here in
Dallas and I’m hoping I will be back
here soon,” added Pacquiao.
Spence said: “He (Pacquiao)
is a legend of the sport. He’s
broken records here before, it
would be my honor to fight him
next.”
Mayweather was also there
and had a brief encounter with
Pacquiao.
The meet-up only added
to the buzz surrounding the
prospects of a rematch, which
at this point could be the biggest
thing in boxing.
Mayweather triumphed in
their clash on May 2015, a victory
by unanimous decision before
the Filipino later on admitted to
fighting with an injured shoulder.
Pacquiao earlier said he
would like to fight either May or
July with whoever his promotions
outfit Premier Boxing Champions
puts in front of him.
Spence is just one of the
many young, skillful and hungry
welterweights around wanting a
piece of Pacquiao in a megabuck
fight.
Also in that list are WBO
champ Terence Crawford, WBC
titlist Shawn Porter and WBA
super champion Keith Thurman.
Spence successfully retained
his IBF crown over Garcia via
a unanimous decision. Judges
scored the 12-round bout 120-
107, 120-108, 120-108.
Pacquiao is the WBA regular
champion, having wrested it from
Lucas Matthysse last July in Kuala
Lumpur, and defended it over
Adrien Broner last January. ●
- M.A. Reyes, Inq
Philippines boasts first bobsled team
The Philippines has put
together a bobsled team who will
try for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
It is the first bobsled team not
only the Philippines, but in
Southeast Asia. The members of
the team are enlisted personnel of
the Philippine Coast Guard, who
made their international debut as
one of the Asian guest racers in
the 2018 Europa Cup on Friday
at Olympia Eiskanal in Igls, Tirol,
in Austria.
According to Thelmo Cunanan
Jr., president of the recently formed
Philippine National Bobsled,
Luge and Skeleton Association,
Inc. (PNBLSA) one of their most
important accomplishments is
that they have proven we can
form a team and compete in the
sport.
Cunanan said the Filipino
pair, who learned the sport just a
few months before the Austrian
meet , got off to a rocky start in
the two-man bobsled division.
The Philippine team was a guest
participant of OlympiaWorld
Innsbruck, which had offered
to train Filipinos in the sport
as well as provide technical
assistance and equipment. They
are currently part of the Alberta
Bobsled Association and have
trained in Calgary for their next
run at qualifiers.
Cunanan said that that one
of their inspirations was the movie
about the Jamaican bobsled team
“Cool Runnings”. In the movie,
the team’s first efforts at the sport
were not that successful, but they
were able to establish themselves
as a winter sports team coming
from a country where there is no
snow, just like the Philippines.
According to Cunanan on
his Facebook page, “When I
founded the Philippine National
Bobsled Luge and Skeleton
Association, one of my objectives
was to establish a suitable and
permanent training homebase
for our organization to meet our
medium and long-term objectives.
There were a slew of important
factors to be considered. These
included: Proper fit and chemistry
with the local counterpart sports
organization and training and
development partner; ease of
communication; good travel
connections;
positive
and
welcoming local society and
culture; affordable cost of living;
distance to neighboring ice canals;
and vibrant and broad economic
environment for marketing and
promotions opportunities.
But one of the most crucial
factors was the local Filipino
community. We needed to have
a dynamic, empowered, forward-
looking, creative, and successful
community of Filipinos, fully-
integrated in their new country
and led by inspired men and
women of integrity, to be our
partner in this endeavor and to
help us with logistical challenges
in our new home.”
He is very grateful to the
Filipino community in Calgary for
supporting them while they were
there, and the team hopes to also
get support from other Filipino
communities in Canada, thus
their visit to Vancouver recently
where they were received at the
Philippine Consulate General in
Vancouver.
The team is composed of
Seaman First Class Rolando
Isidro Jr (pilot) and Seaman
Second Class Jeffrey dela Cruz
(L-R) Balitang Vancouver’s Rosette Correa, Deputy Consul Leotito Ausan, Jr., the PHL Bobsled Team
The PHL Bobsled Team in Calgary, Alberta
(brakeman). Part of the team also
are Jerby Derada and Joseph
Acosta.
The team placed third in
the third in Alberta Bobsleigh
Provincial Championship in their
North American debut in Calgary,
Alberta. They worked with
Canadian Olympian Lascelles
Brown, who has two Olympic
Medals in the sport. Brown
actually played for the Jamaican
National Bobsled Team in the
2002 Olympic Winter Games in
Salt Lake City, UT before moving
with his family to Canada.
To support the team and
its efforts to qualify for the 2022
Beijing WInter Olympics, please
go to their gofundme page,
https://www.gofundme.com/
philippine-bobsled-team,
and
like their Facebook page to show
them our Canadian warmth! ●
- Rosette D. Correa, BV