He cleaned up some of his rivals during a five-cock derby held over the weekend hosted by the National Cockers Association at the Pasay City Cockpit where he emerged co-champion and reinforced further his growing reputation as a man who loves to gamble.

Pacquiao’s entry Pacman 1 shared top honors with three veteran cockfighters who are considered heavyweights in the business.

After a series fights that ended in the wee hours of Sunday, Pacquiao found himself sharing the winner’s circle with Patrick Antonio, Jun Santiago and Ito Ynares.

Another entry carrying his name, Pacman, also scored a few wins but the boxer said the birds were not entirely his but belong to a small consortium of friends.

"Pina-finance lang sa akin ang mga ‘yun at yung mga manok sa Pacman1 ang talagang akin," he said.

Pacman 1 were gamebirds he purchased in Fresno, California and trained in his game farms in General Santos City and some other areas.

Pacquiao was so thrilled with his win he woke up this reporter at 4 a.m. Sunday just to say that he had won the derby, a small consolation for a man who recently lost a fight that was watched practically by the entire nation.

He said he could have won more but lost one of his birds to another competitor.

"Kung ako siguro ang nagbitaw nung una ay baka nanalo rin," said Pacquiao, who got his share of R80,000 for taking top honors with four other bets.

"Bigtime talaga ang derby na ito. Tingnan mo kung sino-sino ang merong entry. Para ka na ring sumali sa sa Araneta."

Pacquiao said the bird that won the fourth point was the one that emerged unscathed when pitted against an entry of Chavit Singson in Kidapawan, North Cotabato.

Less than 24 hours after his triumph in Pasay, Pacquiao was at the Sta. Ana Cockpit to check out some hackfights from 2-5:30 p.m. Monday.

At the Pasay cockpit, Pacquiao got an unsolicited advice from cockfight aficionado Patrick Antonio, who told him not to apply the tactic that has made the slugger a crowd favorite.

"Hindi puwede dito (sa sabong) ang sugod ng sugod. Kahit isang sako ang dala mong pera kayang ubusin. Kapag nakita mo na medyo tagilid ka, you should hold back," said Antonio, whose farm in San Pablo, Laguna, played host to Pacquiao during a visit there yesterday.

"Tumingin-tingin lang ako sa farm," said Pacquiao.

Besides cockfighting, Pacquiao is also known to bet heavily when he plays billiards.