Benjsports.com » Davao City

Not exciting

Benjie — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:56:11 +0000

The recent fight of Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey last weekend drew cheers and boos here in ‘Pacman’s’ home soil. Cheers for Manny’s victory and boos for the subpar performance of Joshua Clottey. At Gaisano Grand Citimall Cinema here in Davao City where we watched the fight, people were obviously dissatisfied with what they saw. And most likely, same thing goes to the almost 51,000 who packed the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and the million others who watched ‘The Event’.

Jeff’s brother Jay told me that he wouldn’t bother to watch the replay at all. Me too. It was not Manny’s fault. Nor the referee’s and the judges’. Numbers don’t lie. Manny threw a total of 1,231 punches and landed 246 of those. Joshua, on the other hand had a mere 399 punches thrown and made 108. So, what can you expect?

It looked like Clottey was there not to win but merely to survive 12 rounds with Pacquiao. It was definitely not exciting at all. Truly, Clottey made ‘The Event’ uneventful.

Just a sleep away

Benjie — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:45:45 +0000

Well, it’s almost 12 midnight as I’m writing this post. The ‘Event’ is just a sleep away. Remember Gino Padilla’s hit maker ‘Just a smile away ‘? It became so popular back in the early 90s and we could replace its lyrics with ‘just a sleep away’.

What makes sense to these words is the fact that the fight between the two boxing heroes Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey is really worth the wait. I bet that this showdown would take us to the edge of our seats. For the first time, I’ll be watching it at the Gaisano Grand Citimall (formerly JS Gaisano) in Ilustre St., Davao City. I’ll be with my buddy Jeff, his fiancée Doodles, and Jeff’s brother Jay.

Now as the clock ticks near midnight, I am about to take that ‘sleep’ away.

Thank you Meiko Honda

Benjie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:54:16 +0000

It has been three weeks already since one of my best friends Meiko Honda (a.k.a. Meiko Bistula) passed away. He died last February 18 after spending 4 days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of San Pedro Hospital in Davao City due to injuries he suffered in a vehicular accident. Until now, I could hardly believe that he is gone. The last time we hanged out together was back in December 2008 at the Matina Town Square.

Meiko was a great friend. We had been together in class from our kindergarten days until high school. I have a lot of fond memories with him. He was a cheerful person, loved rock music and a sports aficionado as well.

Like me, Meiko was a basketball fanatic and a boxing enthusiast. I remember he would update me on the games of the NBA Finals back in 2006 as I could not watch it live. He would leave his household chores just to keep me abreast with the championship series. Besides, he used to tell me stories about Manny Pacquiao which I could not find on the web nor in the papers. In one way or another, he had greatly influenced my interest in sports. And perhaps even this site.

It’s just so sad that that day came. It was February 18 when he passed away.

Thank you Meik for all the good times and bad. Thank you for the memories. As they say, ‘Whoever touches our lives leaves heartprints of love, friendship and joy. ‘ Thank you bai for a beautiful heartprint.

Got my ticket, with extra one

Benjie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:05:37 +0000

It’s just three days away from a national holiday here in the Philippines as once again, boxing icon Manny Pacquiao takes on Joshua Clottey of Ghana on Saturday (Sunday PHI time). In the last three fights of Manny, I watched all of these in Gaisano Mall Cinema along J.P. Laurel Ave. here in Davao City. And early this week, I was thinking of trying it somewhere else for a change. But, just as I was about to decide, I saw an ad in Gaisano Grand Citimall in Ilustre St. (Formerly JS Gaisano Ilustre) that they are showing it live on their cinema. All you have to do is buy any combination of Head and Shoulders products and for every P150 of purchase, you have one ticket. Great deal, right? So, I didn’t think twice anymore and grab a couple of tickets right away. The other one was supposedly intended for my big bro but he told me he could not go with me. And so is my father. Thus, I got an extra one here.

Davao City photos moments before Pacquiao-Cotto fight

Benjie — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:58:58 +0000

Everytime Manny Pacquiao has a boxing match, almost everybody here in the Philippines are glued on the seats as nobody would like to miss a single action. So on my way to Gaisano Mall Cinema last Sunday for the much anticipated battle between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico, I took a few shots along the major thoroughfares of Davao City. Remember, I took these photos on the central business district of Davao around two hours before the main event and you’ll notice that the city became virtually a ghost town.

Along C.M. Recto St.

Along Roxas Ave.

Still at Roxas Ave.

By the way, my alma matter along Roxas Ave.

At C.M. Recto St. corner Roxas Ave.

Along J.P. Laurel Ave.

Still at J.P. Laurel Ave.

At the Pryce Business Park

Still undecided

Benjie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:20:03 +0000

Everybody’s talking about it already. I mean it’s Thursday and “Firepower” is just a few days away. Due to time difference, it will be Sunday morning here in the Philippines by the time Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto squares off the ring. But until now, I haven’t decided on where to watch this fight.

I know this is an exciting fight and a classic in the making. Having watched Pacquiao’s last two fights in Gaisano Mall Cinema here in Davao City, i’m itching to do the same thing. Among other options I’m also considering are SM City Cinema with friends Jeff and Junjun, in a hotel serving a lunch buffet or simply here at home on live stream video.

I have had some negative feedbacks on watching in a hotel served with lunch. So I might drop that off from my list. With regards to SM City, both Jeff and Junjun have already their tickets. So, the possibility is that we won’t be seated next to each other. Again, I’m dropping that off. So I’m down to two -at Gaisano Mall Cinema or on live streaming here at home?

So, it’s three days to go, two options in one mega fight!