Boldest predictions

I was recently a guest on former PBA commissioner Noli Eala’s radio/TV sports show “Power and Play” which airs on Radyo5 92.3 FM and is telecast on Akyson TV live on Saturdays from 8 to 10 a.m. Luckily, the traffic wasn’t too bad last Saturday morning so I made it to the TV5 complex way ahead of schedule.

I recall Ginebra coach Tim Cone and I were Noli’s inaugural guests when his show made its debut on the air last August. Last Saturday was his first show of the year and Noli asked for bold predictions on sports in 2019. My two boldest predictions were that Gilas would qualify for the FIBA World Cup in China on Aug. 31-Sept. 15 and that the Philippines would stage a successful Southeast Asian Games on Nov. 30-Dec. 11. There was no time to make more predictions on Noli’s show so for today’s column, I’m putting out five of my 10 boldest forecasts for the year.

Gilas will qualify for the FIBA World Cup. To make it to China, the Philippines must finish third in its bracket or register the better fourth place record than the fourth placer of the other group. At the moment, the situation is far from conclusive, one way or the other, for the Philippines but if Gilas beats Qatar on Feb. 21 and Kazakhstan on Feb. 24, both on the road, in the final window of the FIBA Asia/Pacific World Cup Qualifiers, the probability to book a ticket to China will be high. Coach Yeng Guiao is assembling a pool of 15 for the last two games and said the task of advancing is doable. Gilas is walking on thin ice but there’s something about the team’s spirit that creates a sense of optimism. When its back is against the wall, Gilas finds that extra ounce of fight to pull through.

The Philippines will stage a successful SEA Games. The public and private sectors are getting together to make sure there are no hitches in hosting the biennial conclave of 11 nations. It’s only the fourth time the Philippines is rolling out the red carpet for this event after 1981, 1991 and 2005. The coming Games will feature 56 sports, the most ever since the inaugurals in 1959. Here’s another bold prediction – the Philippines will finish in the top three overall. Since claiming first place in 2005, the Philippines has wound up seventh once, sixth four times and fifth once in six stagings. In the previous Games, the Philippines was good for only sixth in Kuala Lumpur two years ago.

There will be one team, neither from the San Miguel nor MVP Groups, to win at least one conference title in the PBA this season. That means Alaska, Rain Or Shine, NorthPort, Phoenix, Blackwater or Columbian will ascend the throne. Rain Or Shine was the last “independent” to win a PBA crown in the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup as three San Miguel teams have since swept seven conferences in a row.

Manny Pacquiao will face Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a rematch and win. The WBA welterweight champion battles Adrien Broner in Las Vegas on Jan. 19.  A victory will pave the way for negotiations to start with Mayweather for a return bout. They met in 2015, both earning mammoth paydays, with Mayweather winning on points and Pacquiao fighting with an injured right shoulder starting the fourth round. Mayweather has hemmed and hawed about battling Pacquiao one more time. One day, Mayweather says let’s get it on and another day, he says he’s staying retired. Once Mayweather realizes the rematch will mean another major paycheck, there won’t be turning back. 

The POC will broker a unification to finally break the long division of stakeholders in swimming. It won’t be easy but POC president Ricky Vargas has a reputation of being a “healing” leader. He did it with the PBA as chairman and will do it again as POC president. The Philippines hasn’t captured a gold in swimming at the SEA Games since garnering four in 2009. With factions bickering over turf, the athletes are clearly affected by the friction and the results are evident in the SEA Games drought. It would be a historic day in Philippine swimming when Vargas gets PSI president Lani Velasco, Anthony Lozada, Ral Rosario, Eric Buhain, Akiko Thomson, Nikki Coseteng and Susan Papa together on the same page, on the same track with no personal agendas and only national pride as their focus.

The next five bold predictions will be in tomorrow’s column.