PACQUIAO PLAYS BASKETBALL FOR CROSS-TRAINING
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 15 Feb 2016
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- For Filipino ring hero Manny Pacquiao, basketball is his way of staying fit, especially during lull in his fighting schedule.
The sport, in fact, is his other passion, next only to boxing.
That was how the only man on earth to capture 10 world championships in eight weight divisions explained on his penchant for the sport which he plays daily.
Except during the crucial stages of his preparation for a fight.
?Sabihin na nating basketball ang second love ko, next only to boxing,? the erstwhile world belt-owner of the flyweight, super-bantamweight, super-featherweight, lightweight, junior-welterweight, welterweight and junior-middleweight divisions has often told this writer whenever interviewed on the subject.
"Well, you, probably, have noticed it, basketball is the sport I used for my cross-training. Besides keeping me in shape, it gives me happiness whenever I play the game," he said of the discipline, which also happens to be the favorite of his countrymen, basketball being the nation's number one pastime.
"Before we left Manila last week on our way here, sabi ninyo ang ganda ng katawan ko at mukhang kondisyong-kondisyon ako inspite of my long layoff from boxing," the three-time "Fighter of the Year" awardee said.
"You're right. I'm still in near-perfect shape because of basketball," he assured. When I felt kasi na medyo nakaka-recover na ako sa shoulder injury ko, sinubukan ko nang maglaro ng basketball and since then, I have been playing almost daily na."
Pacquiao suffered injury on his rotator cuff during his last fight which he lost to unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather last May and had to go under knife. He assured though he's completely recovered from that.
"To a certain extent, I really owe my quick and speedy recovery to basketball, without which, baka injured pa ako until now," he remarked. "Marami kasi nagagawa ang paglalaro ng baskeball. For one, It strengthens my legs and my arms."
"Basketball, likewise, helps me recover my speed in both my hands and feet, besides helping me in making quick decisions, which I need in boxing," the Sarangani Congressman, who is seeking a higher senate seat in the coming elections, noted. "Dito sa basketball, nade-develop ko ang stamina, footwork, quickness,decision-making, etc,? Pacquiao stressed.
His passion for basketball doesn't diminish though his love for boxing, Pacquiao, who also owns the world lineal titles in flyweight, featherweight, super-featherweight and junior-welterweight, clarified.
?Boxing, of course, is my first love, being the sport that extricated me and my entire family from poverty to what I am now. Boxing is my life,? he reiterated. ?Basketball, on the other hand, is my happiness. The sport gives me the happiness in life. Masayang-masaya ako kapag naglalaro ako,?
To demonstrate his passion for the game, the father of five to wife, Sarangani Vice Gov. Jinkee, has also been the main man in organizing basketball tournaments here, like the on-going MP National Basketball League, where, he owns the league-leading Team Emmanuel.
Pacquiao, indeed, is so passionate in basketball that oftentimes, he would defy chief trainer Freddie Roach wishes for him to reduce his time playing the game for fear of his ward getting injured.
?I cannot really help but play basketball. Pero maingat naman ako. Ayoko ring ma-injure ako ng grabe. The kind that could end my boxing career, my only profession,? the former pound-for-pound best explained.
He promised to heed though his chief trainer's wish now that Roach is already here to supervise his training for his next fight against former victim Timothy Bradley, which could end his 21-year pro-career.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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