For future boxing Hall of Famer Manny
Pacquiao and golf rising star Jason Day, their most recent outings were nothing
close to ordinary. Theirs was a special moment much desired by a nation hungry
for inspiration.
Jason Day is an
Australian-Filipino who traces his roots to Leyte, Philippines,
the province most devastated by the typhoon Haiyan. The fate suffered by Day’s
family in the Philippines
was well-publicized, as eight family members, including his grandmother perished
at the height of the storm surge. That said, it’s no secret what the
26-year-old native of Queensland, Australia
had in mind going into the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf. Obviously, a lot was
going on inside his head. This fired him up even more as he went on to win the
said tournament at Royal Melbourne, bringing hope to his seemingly downtrodden
loved ones back in the Philippines. Not since 2010 did Day last won a
professional outing, so this made it doubly sweet for him. Those days of shelving
his golf cart cover to be on the course for practice surely paid off.
Win or lose, Manny Pacquiao dedicated
his fight to his countrymen especially those in areas most ravaged by the
typhoon. The devastation has since left almost 6,000 people dead, and even more
injured and missing. Apparently this fueled the fire of the fighter many
consider to have lost luster because of his rather dismal performances in
previous fights. But the native of General
Santos City
was bent on displaying his old form, which he successfully did to the cheers of
an entire country.
In the fight held in Macau, Pacquiao won almost every round in the eyes of the
judges. There was even one who awarded him every round. Visibly wary of the speed
and footwork of Manny, Mexican-American Brandon Rios wasn’t as aggressive as he
was in his previous fights. The usually forceful Rios failed to impose his will
on his opponent and became a virtual punching bag in the entirety of the fight,
making for a one-sided victory for Manny. Pacquiao promised to continue helping
the typhoon victims once he gets back to the Philippines.
Typhoon Haiyan is said to be one
of the strongest, if not the strongest typhoon that ever hit the Philippines.
The damage was so wide experts say it’s gonna take twenty years to completely rebuild
the affected areas. An important sector to start this rebuilding is the people.
With their feats, Manny Pacquiao and Jason Day surely put them in the right
direction.
