By Ronnie Nathanielsz
They said it couldn’t be done. People laughed at claims by international promoter Murad Muhammad and Manny Pacquiao’s kind-hearted business manager Rod Nazario who has treated Pacquiao like a son that they would give millions of the flamboyant Filipino’s worshippers a chance to see their hero in action at home. People said the Philippines was hopeless and a fight involving the kind of money required would make it impossible to pull off. Well, Saturday night at The Fort in Taguig, the skeptics and the critics were proven terribly wrong. Not only did Murad and Rod pull off a minor miracle, the staging, television presentation and the entire atmosphere outdid the best Las Vegas could offer. It was better than the best.
30,000 fans roared as first Z “The Dream” Gorres put on a superb showing against an incredibly strong and durable Chaiyong Distar, filling our hearts with dreams of another world champion. Then, Manny Pacquiao demonstrated his devastating punching power to bring fans to their feet with an explosive fourth round annihilation of another gallant Thai fighter, Fahsan 3K Battery. While they lifted our spirits by their performance in the ring, what did us proud was the superb organization, the excellent security and the stylish set-up which fuelled the electrifying atmosphere which, for a few hours, made us wipe away the painful memories of our recent man-made disasters and rekindle faith in ourselves.
Manny Pangilinan, the consummate businessman-sportsman whose willingness to show his gratitude to a nation and people that have supported him and his business enterprises and have recognized and respected his philosophy of business with honor as well as Solar Sports spearheaded by the Tsieng brothers William and Wilson who gave their all out support to a truly ambitious project, deserve the gratitude and applause of a nation striving to revive its faith and to prove that we are far from finished. Saturday night the Filipino stood tall in the ring and stood proud in the eyes of the world because we showed that when it comes to doing things in style, our nation’s unfortunate lack of resources is no hindrance to the emergence of the creative genius of the Filipino. In many ways we must thank Murad Muhammad and Rod Nazario for demonstrating throughout some trying times, their unshakeable faith in the Filipino.
When the television coverage of “Yanig sa Taguig” is shown in other countries people will marvel at the classy presentation which, in some aspects, made Las Vegas look small-time. The stirring rendition of our national anthem by the lovely Regine Velasquez whose voice reverberated across the open air arena, the stunningly attractive round girls Diana Zubiri and Juliana Palermo, the giant screens that captured every detail of the action in all its glory and the rare gathering of top officials at special ringside to cheer our champions on were exclamation points in a night to remember.
It was an occasion when even the weather that threatened to ruin the affair held back with a mere sprinkling of a shower falling down from the heaves early, as though it was God’s blessings on an event that was to spotlight the resiliency and the capability of the Filipino and to give us renewed spirit and confidence in ourselves and our ability to overcome. Manny Pacquiao has shown us, time and again, the indomitable courage of the Filipino and has, on occasions, reflected the brashness of youth that effectively mirrors the confidence of being Filipino.
“Yanig sa Taguig” was a proud moment in the history of Philippine sports. It was, in many respects a glimpse of what we can achieve working together and with a sense of purpose. Even the media, driven by the excitement and charisma exuded by Pacquiao, the eloquence and unbelievable faith of Murad Muhammad, the humility of Rod Nazario, the gentleness and sincerity of trainer Freddie Roach and the gigantic proportions of the undertaking itself, felt it had a stake in its success. The print media, television and radio played a meaningful role in ensuring the resounding success of “Yanig sa Taguig” which was destined to provide our people with an evening of celebration and an hour of pride that would wash away the tears of our recent miseries.
