THE CEBU PACLAND EB AND THE BANAL FIGHT- AN EXPERIENCE
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 29 Jul 2008
Cebu City, Philippines: - a few weeks ago, a young doctor named JV Tuazon of New Jersey, USA wrote on ?PhilBoxing?, a scintillating tribute to the brains behind one of the world?s leading boxing websites, Dong Secuya.
The tribute could not have been written at a better time!
In response to the article, many Paclanders responded and/or made comments about the article and the man himself on the ?Pacland forum?. Reading the postings was so heart warming for each of them vividly showed what a product Dong Secuya has started . They also indicated not only the love , but the repect as well of the people for the man they all came to know as ?Shiva?.
With that, I decided to push the tribute to another level. I dumped plans to see the hot Cotto-Margarito fight at Las Vegas for the one dubbed as ?Laban na Banal: Panahon Na? scheduled at the Cebu Coliseum , Saturday, July 26th, between AJ Banal and the Panamenian ?little bull?, Rafael Concepcion. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to ?kill two birds with one stone?:- set a tribute for Shiva and go see Banal win a title for the country.
Through e-mail, a request was made to one of Pacland?s stalwarts and Phil Boxing contributing editor, Salven Lagumbay to help put together an EB for the Cebu Paclanders.
Lagumbay graciously got in touch with Cebu Paclanders and invited them to attend an EB in one of the functions rooms of the Cebu Grand Convention Center, next to the famed Waterfront Hotel.
The event was a total surprise for Secuya.
But what made it so memorable and fun was hearing what many Paclanders have to say about the event, their fellow Paclanders and the man of the hour, Dong Secuya. One by one each Paclander in attendance came to the podium and delivered their piece.
Every one was allowed to say what is in their minds, the good, the bad and the ugly. Afterall, it was supposed to be a ?roast?. But being ever so respectful for the man of the hour, they kept their words clean and meaningful. Mostly related how they got involved with Pacland and the numerous good things that came about with it. What was supposed to be a ?roast? turned out to be a full time ?honors?. But it could not be more appropriate.
In the end, it was fun galore!
To top off the event, this writer had a custom made ?Champion?s Belt?custom made by ?Ringside? of Kansas City, USA and presented it to Dong Secuya. It was presented to Secuya amidst the applause of the Paclanders and the flashing flash bulbs to document the event.
Late that night, as the clock pushed towards midnight at Cebu City, I tried looking back at the EB while I lay in bed wide-eyed in my hotel room high atop the GV Towers a few hundred feet from the Cebu Coliseum. It was a private and a quiet way to savor the fact that I had an unforgettable experience with a bunch of wonderful people called the Paclanders. And, it was awesome to honor Secuya.
The experience was extremely pleasant. Everyone was friendly, very respectful and delightful to be around with.
Yes, it cost me a few bucks to host the EB but the return by all measures was priceless. I will relish the experience forever.
Now had AJ Banal kept away from Concepcion, after gathering up all those points from round 1 to 9 and avoided those thundering Concepcion body shots by simply running around or clinching, he would have won the fight and made my trip really amazing.
But I guess such is life, you win one and you lose one.
I won with the incalculable experiences I had with the Paclanders earlier during the day and the honors we gave to Secuya but suffered a tremendous lost and a sinking feeling seeing one of my favorite boys from the famed ALA Gym down in the canvas being counted out.
PS: Salven Lagumbay, the pleasant young man who serves as the contributing editor of PhilBoxing was likewise honored. A plaque was presented to him as well to recognize his efforts and support for Pacland and PhilBoxing.
Top photo: Cebu Paclanders pose for a photo during last Saturday's EB at the Cebu Grand Convention Center in Cebu City.
Secuya (L) and Lagumbay pose with their respective awards during an eyeball (EB) with the Cebu Paclanders on Saturday, July 26, at the Cebu Grand Convention Center.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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