Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Meet Gail from the Bronx, who'll sing the Philippines' anthem

MEET 19-YEAR OLD Gail Banawis of the Bronx, New York. She will be singing the Philippine National Anthem at the Pacquiao-Mayweather extravaganza this May 2.

Gail Banawis meets her hero.

She will be accompanied by The Word Chorale, a group of singing pastors from General Santos City in the Philippines.

Banawis is studying speech pathology at Brooklyn College and has had extensive training in dance in its various forms: ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop. 

“I am going to be incredibly proud of this experience,” Banawis said In an interview with the Inquirer. “Being able to sing for the ‘People’s Champ’ has always been an aspiration of mine. 

"He brought light onto the identity of Filipinos all over the world. I remember having to explain what a Filipino is to people who are unfamiliar with the Philippines, but now, just mentioning that you’re Filipino, people automatically say, ‘Oh, like Pacquiao!’”

According to a report from 24 Oras published on Pep, Banawis said that Pacquiao personally told her that she will perform together with the Word Chorale. Gail has opened for a number of celebrities from the Philippines in their U.S. shows, including Gabby Concepcion, Billy Crawford, and K Brosas.

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Filipino American playing for the Los Angeles Lakers

Jordan Clarkson was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers.

CAN YOU name the NBA team that could possibly make history by featuring an All-American Asian-American guard tandem? 

Can you name the first Filipino American to be drafted by an team in the National Basketball Association?

That's a trick pair of questions. The answer to question one is: The 2014-15 Los Angeles Lakers.

The answer to question two is Raymond Townsend, who was drafted by the Golden State Warior in 1978.

One of the Los Angeles Lakers picks in the 2014 draft was Filipino American Jordan Clarkson, a 6'5" guard who played at University of Missouri. He was initially drafted 46th by the Washington Wizards but was subsequently acquired by the Lakers.

While Clarkson is not the first Filipino American in the NBA, he is the first in 35 years. Bay Area product Townsend played for the Warriors and ended up his career with the Indiana Pacers in 1982. For a few more years, he played for a couple of European professional teams. 

Ricky Brown was drafted in 1979 by the Houston Rockets. After a short NBA career, he went on to have an illustrious career in the PBA and played for the Philippines in international competition. 

Ever since Brown and Townsend, there has been a dearth of Filipino American basketball players until last Spring. (CORRECTION: My fault, but in an earlier version of this, spellcheck changed the spelling of "dirth" to something disparaging of Filipino American players. My apologies)  

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak describes Clarkson as "a ball-handling guard that we're excited about drafting." "He's got great size," Kupchak continued. "Good athlete. Really good size. Good defender. Excels probably at attacking the rim. Maybe not as good of a shooter, probably, as he will be when he works on it. He left school a year early. He transferred. So, I'm sure he was thinking that maybe he would get drafted higher and maybe he has a chip on his shoulder -- an expression you've heard today -- to come out and prove something. But we liked his size and we liked his skill at that position." 

During the off-season, the Lakers also acquired Jeremy Lin, a San Francisco Bay Area-raised Lin played for Warriors, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks before coming to the Lakers. It was during his New York stint when he generated so much excitement with his scoring and playing style that the New York media dubbed it "Linsanity."

If the Lakers put both Lin and Clarkson on the floor at the same time, they could make history by becoming the first Asian-American backcourt in the NBA.

While playing for Mizzou, he was being scouted by some Philippine Basketball Association teams. He could have played for the PBA if no NBA teams showed any interest. Filipinos are basketball-maniacs and love ball handling skills over height. No doubt, he'll be embraced by Filipino American communities, despite playing for the Lakers. 

The sound you hear is another blow to the Asian American male stereotype, reinforced by the performances of Asian American baseball players in the post-season that belie the traits of weakness, unaggressiveness and nerdiness attributed to Asian men.

Clarkson's mother is Annette Davis, who was born in Angeles City in the Philippines.

Clarkson joins a Lakers team that has fallen on hard times. Even then, he may have a hard time finding some playing time playing behind the baseball legends Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash and backed by Lin, who has years of experience on the 22-year-old Clarkson.

"I'm a rookie coming in here," Clarkson admits. "I;m just trying to prove myself. I'm going to do what I do best and try my hardest."

Here's an assessment of Clarkson's abilities by Nbadraft.net

Quick guard with good size who has displayed point guard ability … Ran point the majority of the time during his lone season at Missouri ... Has a strong handle and displays solid vision … Has the ability to post up smaller players and still has quickness to create off of the dribble … Athleticism also allows him to take advantage of bigger defenders, can shoot over them off of the bounce or take them to the basket … Can score from all three levels and is able to create his own offense … Gets low on both ends of the court, moves quite fluidly … His lateral quickness and size gives him potential as a defender, could be versatile guarding the perimeter … Excels at pulling up off of the dribble, giving him the potential to develop a floater as well as spot up ability … Got to the foul line fairly often, shooting 83.1% from the stripe, which would lead many to believe he has a lot of potential from midrange … Has displayed some outside shooting ability. He can be streaky in a good way at times … Used to playing big minutes, and is in excellent condition … Really good body control, use it to create space for opportunities and finishes well around the basket… Decent rebounder given his position, aggressive around the ball … Provides versatility at the guard spot, size and length to defend multiple positions ...

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Nonito Donaire Jr.: "I am Filipino!"

NONITO DONAIRE Jr. (AKA The Filipno Flash) is a champion boxer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Next to Manny Pacquiao, he is probably the best known contemporary Filipino pugilist, holding multiple crowns in various weight divisions.

Like many men who have taken up the sport professionally, he's full of self-confidence to the point of being overconfident. He's brash, outspoken and proud to be a Filipino. The commercial for Cobra Energy Drink combines his confidence and pride to send a powerful positive message about being Filipino (its implied that comes with drinking Cobra, of course.)

Forget the drink, when I first saw the commercial, my reaction was "Oh, yeah!!!" It is one of the most positive and powerful messages about being Filipino that I've seen. Warrior, Perseverance, Power, Against all odds. Good stuff.

He has a fight this coming Saturday against up-and-coming fighter Nicholas Walters, a powerful puncher who hasn't been defeated in his 24-fight career. The fight in Carson, Calif. is for the featherweight WBA crown.

Donaire, at 31, may be on the downside of his spectacular career. Since he lost to Guillermo Rigondeaux, Donaire hasn't been the same. However, the "Flash" is no slouch either sporting a 33-2 record with 21 KOs.

It's a big fight for Walters to legitimize his quest for a world championship. The stakes are just as high for Donaire to regain the respect of the fight world but more importantly, to regain his swagger.

UPDATE: Nonito Donaire lost to Nicholas Walter by TKO in the 6th round. Donaire was overmatched by size, weight and reach. He should stay in the lower weight divisions.

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