``We get discriminated against and it is taken against us if we mispronounce a word, but the victory of Manny showed to the world we are equal to them and if we try harder, even better than them,'' Greg Cruz, a call center agent from Marikina City, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, as he emerged from the Araneta Coliseum where more than 18,000 people watched the fight live, through a 30-foot screen installed to cover the four angles of the dome.
Nelson Aves, 31, another call center agent, echoed Cruz statement and added, ``Now they cannot put down our race, Manny has raised it. His hard work and victory should serve as an inspiration.''
Aves said he has been at the receiving end of discriminatory remarks from foreign clients. ``Sometimes, in between transactions, when they learned I was from the Philippines, they would mention Manny, but they were mad. Maybe now, this victory will make them realize we are really good," Aves added.
To others, Pacquiao's victory was anticlimactic and expected.
``We knew he will win, it was expected, no surprise, but I expected the fight to be shorter,'' Eric Santamaria, a market research manager said.
Santamaria, a resident of Marikina City and one of those affected by storm Ondoy, said the disaster did not stop them from watching the fight at the Araneta Coliseum.
``I was surprised to see the crowd. It was good for the Filipinos. A victory is what we need at the moment,'' he said.
According to Genny Marcial, an Araneta Center executive, the crowd that watched the fight was bigger than the audience of basketball games between the Ateneo University and the De La Salle University.
``The crowd not only filled the rafters, but had even spilled over,'' Marcial said.
The coliseum was filled to the brim. The audiences in the bleachers, could hardly move without knocking down people next to them.
``It's okay, we just want to see it live, like the politicians who are in Vegas, we are watching it with them at the same time,'' Andy from Cubao said.
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