Palm Sunday turns into ‘Viernes Santo’ as Manny goes palpak in Las Vegas, and Schumacher kaput in K.L.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Palm Sunday, yesterday, turned into "Good Friday" for this disappointed sports aficionado. I saw my two idols bite the dust on the same day, half a world apart.

Keeping track of two events at the same time, admittedly, is both a feat (especially in Malaysia’s 38 degrees celsius heat cum 90 percent humidity) and a trauma.

Just before the ten Formula 1 cars, with an ear-splitting roar, powered down the track in front of us for the finish of the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix, we heard on the radio, and from an anguished cellphone call that our boxing champ, Manny Pacquiao, had lost his 12-round bout in Las Vegas, despite the fact that enough congressmen to constitute a quorum had abandoned their effort to pass the VAT and rushed to Vegas to cheer Manny on. There’s moaning and groaning all over our Philippines – but most of all among those who put their money on our hero.

To our battler from Davao, I can only commend the slogan of Manuel Uy, the top sweepstakes-seller of my youth. He would intone, on radio and in every calendar he gave away: "A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins."

Is there life after the debacle in Vegas? Of course. Manny, don’t hang up those gloves!

As for myself, in the Ferrari stands, almost tearfully, I saw Michael Schumacher – seven times world champion – suffer humiliation – he didn’t even place. He lapsed into 11th! Well, you can’t win ’em all. (Consuelo de bobo).

It just wasn’t Schumacher’s day. Heck, it wasn’t even Michael’s week. Not only did Schumacher finish a poor 12th in the qualifying session last Saturday – the day before – he also had to apologize to his fellow German, Nick Heidfeld of BMW-Williams for having collided with him in Melbourne two weeks ago.

The Australian Grand Prix had been a disaster for Schumacher and Ferrari, too – he was a no-finish there, as well.

The Malaysian "Sepang Circuit" proved his final undoing. Guess Schumacher and Ferrari winning it all, if not his partner, Rubens Barrichello (from Brazil), had become almost boring. Now his downfall. Can he make it back? Has he lost his magic touch? Abangan. Michael’s contract with Ferarri had just been extended to year 2006. He has, under his signature red jacket, seven world titles, 83 Grand Prix wins, 13 wins in a season.

These are records, I suppose, which may never be matched. As for me, I remain his fan. Nope, I won’t put away my collection of Ferrari and Schumacher jackets, picked up in Milan, Rome, and yes – the Glorietta – the local knock-offs are just as good. And the other day, right here in Malaysia. (Not even that Ferrari "bear" which I got to hang as a mascot in my car – alas, not a Ferrari, can’t afford that luxury vehicle).

On second thought, perhaps it’s time for Schumacher to think of retirement. After one "comeback," hopefully.

By golly, yesterday was Renault’s day! Spain’s nervy Fernando Alonso, the youngest winner in Formula 1 history, zoomed at more than 250 km. per hour to a sizzling finish, leaving second-placer, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli from Italy, eating his dust.

Young Alonso deserves his victory: in the qualifying run Saturday, he had demonstrated his winning "power" by blasting in first with a blistering lap to grab provisional pole position – giving notice that he intended to romp off with the trophy. And he did.

Beating Trulli was no mean achievement. Trulli was one of only four drivers to have won a Grand Prix – this happened last year, in 2004, when he copped the Monaco Grand Prix, dominating that race from start to finish. I don’t know why he was "eased out" by Renault, but he did his new Toyota racing car proud.

His replacement, Giancarlo Fischella also from Italy, came from Sauber. He did well yesterday, too, but he’s not yet in the championship category.

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After Sepang – the 7th Malaysian GP and "The Hottest" since it was first held here in 1999 – the championship will move to 17 other circuits, including Turkey which is scheduled to host for the first time in the F1’s 56-year history.

Despite the awful heat yesterday, more than 100,000 of us crowded into Sepang – near Malaysia’s spanking, modern international airport (one which puts ours to eternal shame) – for the Grand Prix.

Mind you, the GP isn’t just sport. It’s big business. Belgium, Bahrain and China joined the Circuit last year.

Will our Philippines ever be able to "host" a Grand Prix? Gee. Those Formula 1 cars won’t even get past the gridlock on EDSA, and the drivers may even choke on our pollution.

Here in Kuala Lumpur, though, we had to endure "haze" from smoke billowing over the sea from Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan). They’re burning their brush and forests again down there.

I came here on the spur of the moment. Couldn’t resist the temptation to witness this Grand Prix.

It was Ding S. Roco, kid brother of Raul Roco, who enticed me down here. Ding is General Manager for external affairs of Shell Exploration & Production – you know, those guys who’re developing Malampaya down in Palawan. Ding thinks we’ll strike oil if we drill in Malampaya – and I believe he’s right. But we’ll have to drill perhaps three miles down into the sea. In these days of soaring oil prices, it may now make sense.

Shell has always powered Ferrari and Schumacher to victory in the past. And it will power us, in our country, to success someday, to be sure.

If you ask me, what got Ferrari embarrassed here in Sepang was hubris. Possibly, Schumacher was tired – but Ferrari for its part was both spoiled and jaded. Its F-2002 needed a new engine – and one had already been developed, but Ferrari decided – despite its mammoth operating budget of US$200 million – to "save" putting in that new-fangled engine. They must have scoffed at the smaller players like Renault and Toyota who only had US$50 to 60 million to fiddle around with. By gosh Renault and Toyota showed proud Ferrari a thing or two yesterday.

They demonstrated that you must never underestimate your rivals – especially those who hate you.

I guess the message of Holy Week holds true: how the mighty are fallen!

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AND TOMORROW, dear Readers, back to Manila and Regular Programming.