?MANNY PACQUIAO TEAM ILOILO? PREPARES TO CHEER AT RINGSIDE
By Alex P. Vidal
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 29 May 2008
ILOILO CITY ? A group of Ilonggo fight fans calling itself as ?Manny Pacquiao Team Iloilo? is preparing to cheer at ringside for World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight challenger Manny Pacquiao who will battle WBC lightweight champion David Diaz for 12 rounds dubbed ?Lethal Combination? at the Mandalay Bay and Resort Casino in Las Vegas on June 28.
Daniel P. Sumagaysay, the group?s spokesman, said they will bring a giant tarpaulin that screams: ?Four-division world champion Manny ?Pacman? Pacquiao Team Iloilo? inside the hotel event center ?to show our support for our beloved ring idol.?
A businessman who owns a restaurant and catering services in Pototan, Iloilo, Sumagaysay, 52, said he has seen many of Pacquiao?s fights here and abroad and was impressed by his skills and courage especially how Pacquiao managed to turn defeat into victory in his March 15 duel with nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez also in Las Vegas.
?He has the heart of a real champion and the skills of Marvin Hagler and Ray Mancini,? Sumagaysay said, referring to the 29-year-old Pacquiao who will invade the 135 lbs division for the first time. ?He deserves the support of the entire nation and that?s why we will cheer for him at ringside.?
Also included in the team are jeweler couple Lornelan and Josefa Caitan and broadcaster Jonavin Villalva, who will also cover the historic fisticuff ?live? for MBC Aksyon Radyo Iloilo.
Sumagaysay, who will represent the country in the Tacoma Food and Gift Festival in Tacoma, Washington in October, said ?Pacquiao?s victory is necessary for the country which is currently being bedeviled by political wrangling and economic despair.?
?We always need to created a stir, a big impact in international stage so that people all over the world will not look down at us; they will give us the respect that we deserve and they will no longer treat our overseas workers and domestic helpers like rags,? concluded Sumagaysay, who worked for six years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia before opening the now famous Danny?s Restaurant and Catering Services.
The group will meet Iloilo Gov. Niel D. Tupas, Sr. before their departure second week of June.
Top photo: TEAM ILOILO. (L-R) Daniel Sumagaysay, Evelyn Palencia, Lornelan Caitan, Josefa Caitan, Jonavin Villalva.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Alex P. Vidal.
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