The National's Sport cover for the Saturday, November 7 issue, featuring Manny Pacquiao as he put on a basketball display in Dubai.
Pacquiao is a player-coach for Mahindra Enforcer, a fledgling Philippines Basketball Association franchise, and on Friday night they faced off with Alaska Aces at Al Wasl Club.
Jonathan Raymond writes the magnetism of Manny was undeniable, but still a bit strange-seeming within the context of basketball, not boxing:
“His shots, his passes, his every touch of the ball, elicited an anticipatory rising cry out of the crowd as if he was Michael Jordan.
“In fact, much of Pacquiao’s basketball adventure calls to mind when Jordan traded basketball himself for an attempt at a baseball career.
“People were nonetheless excited to see him at minor league ballparks, but an indefinable surrealness still surrounded the whole project, because, well, it is not quite ‘Air Jordan’ with a bat and a ball, is it?
“Just the same, it is not quite ‘Pac Man’ with a ball and baskets. ‘If he fights,’ noted one fan off-hand, gesturing at the roughly three-fourths full crowd, ‘it will be all full’.
“To an extent, that sentiment underscored proceedings. Pacquiao’s magnetism is no less powerful in a basketball arena, it is just there is no denying his performance is infinitely more electric with gloves on.”
Jonathan concludes that as much as Pacquiao can excite, when it comes to basketball, it’s just not quite the same:
“Alaska Aces were the better side yesterday in winning 98-94, and that too drew its fair share of excitement out of the Filipino crowd with a tight game to the finish.
“Another fan pointed out that tonight, however, when Barangay Ginebra, the most popular team in the Philippines play, ‘it will be full’.”
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Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
57%20Seconds
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Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff
By Sean Penn
Simon & Schuster
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