Pia and The Great Wall of Ghana

MASTER BLASTER (Mindanao Daily Mirror, March 16, 2009)
Neil Bravo


There are unexplainable things known to man which simply go by the genus of providential.

So when I got a text message from someone very familiar, I never realized the text I sent earlier was the answer to a question.

Yes, I follow the blog, www.whereispianow.com which is a journal of where Senator Pia Cayetano is on a given day. But on that day, the Senator herself admitted to asking “where is Neil now?”

That sounds very heartwarming. I may even run a blog and name it www.whereisneilnow.com but that would not be original.

Let’s stick to the providential.

Anyways, the rest is history and on Saturday night, Pia blew into town with her running shoes. The next day, she was to run 10 kilometers in a marathon. I guess not even the running she had to do in the elections will tire this woman lawmaker, undoubtedly the fittest and most athletic elected official in the land, the men included.

I bet only Manny Pacquiao, if he makes it to the next Congress, can surpass that fitness.

Sunday’s 10-kilometer mileage was even a whimper compared to her earlier mileage of 104 kilometers in January last year when she pedalled from Davao City to Tagum via Panabo, Sto. Tomas, Kapalong and Asuncion in Davao del Norte. Pia was with some members of the Davao sportswriting fraternity Saturday night or a few hours before she ran. Just a few hours back in Manila, she had logged 5 kilometers in another Pinay In Action (PIA) run, which is her advocacy for healthy living, clean environment and women empowerment.

While the encounter with Pia was providential, the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey non-fight was a farce, a stab at the gods of boxing. Good thing is, Manny still is providential to the sport of boxing.

Pia must not have tired running that day because she was just as quick as Manny in sharing her thoughts of Pacman’s pummelling win. "Manny Pacquiao is a winner through and through. Excellence is achieved through hard work over time. His victory cannot be diminished by a non-performing opponent."

Aside from Pia’s thoughts, I also received a few comments right after the fight (come on, I insist there was no fight at all).

City councillor Pete Lavina texted just a few minutes after Manny raised his record to 51-3-2 (38 inside the distance) called Joshua Clottey as The Great Wall of Ghana. Pete, ever the articulate in sports matters, nailed it right in the head. Clottey didn’t come to fight. As my kumpadre Al Mendoza of the Business Mirror said, he came for a dance.

I share Pete’s thoughts too. I think Clottey came like a turtle that night. He hid under his shell to cover himself from Manny’s spitfirish fists. Manny unloaded 1,231 punches in all landing 246 of them. By contrast, Clottey in the few occasions that he opened his armpit threw 399 landing 162, a slew of them were slaps and uppercuts from close range.

Bong Go, the Mayor’s executive assistant, said the win was expected. “But not very convincing. Let’s rejoice again for the country.”

Al Mendoza texted this: “Clottey did not come to fight. He came to collect his $3 Million purse.”

Charles Maxey, resident of the Davao Sportswriters Association: “Clottey did not come to fight, that’s for sure. He came to Dallas just to survive. A lot of people were disappointed with that one but a win is a win.”

Julius Espina, court interpreter from the MTCC Branch 2: “That’s his way to defy the prophecy and predictions.”

Thanks for the thoughts, guys. I agree. Clottey came to the Cowboys Stadium as a credit collector. Dancing his way into the stadium to comply with a contract of appearance, not a contract to fight, Clottey hid himself under his shell. A ninja turtle would have been a better foe, but this Clottey turtle would simply not come out and engage.

He threw just enough to comply with the obligation and give it a semblance of a fight. If his mother were around, I am sure he would hid under her skirt. He covered his face with his gloves that in most part of the coverage, you would not see his face. I must have thought too that he protected a face like it was Ghana’s prettiest.

I lost my gana.

But I confined myself to believing there are unexplainable things known to man that goes by the genus providential. And for Clottey, Sunday’s date with Manny was already providential to the tune of 3 Million dollars.