MANILA, Philippines — Jessie Vargas followed the game plan. He withstood most of his opponent's punches. He went toe to toe with the challenger and won a few skirmishes himself.

Those flashes of brilliance weren't going be enough to beat Manny Pacquiao though.

Vargas promised to press the action against Pacquiao on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) and he didn't look shabby at all. Problem was, he wasn't great either.

"Vargas came up with the best fight of his career, but he was up against a legend. So the best of Vargas was not enough to turn back Manny," boxing analyst and lawyer Ed Tolentino said in an interview on the DZMM program "Yesterday" with Richard Enriquez.

Tolentino gave Pacquiao straight As for his performance, which resulted in Pacquiao winning the WBO welterweight championship and earning the distinction of becoming a world champion as an active senator.

"I thought Manny did very well in his fight," Tolentino said. "He was using his right a lot, his jab. Jessie couldn't penetrate his defense."

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Tolentino said Vargas was up to the challenge. Despite the second-round knockdown, Vargas got back up and took the fight to Pacquiao.

"Vargas threw a few rights that forced Manny to retreat a few times, but I thought Manny moved well. His leg movement was beautiful, the way he was bobbing and weaving to avoid the counter right hand of Vargas," Tolentino said.

"I thought there was going to be a knockdown. Pacquiao threw a few left straights but Vargas proved to be tough. And Manny couldn't totally finish him off because he has to be wary of Vargas's right hand. He doesn't want to be hit by a sneaky punch, but it was a very impressive performance by Manny.

"The knockdown Vargas suffered in the second round, he just didn't see it coming. Manny couldn't follow up on it because time ran out in that round. After that, Manny kind of coasted and that's why Jessie Vargas recovered."

Tolentino said Pacquiao seemed to have figured out Vargas by the middle rounds.

"Manny sort of knew he could take (Vargas's) punches. He felt he wasn't threatened," Tolentino said.

Pacquiao's aggressiveness late in the fight surprised Tolentino, who thought Pacquiao had wrapped up the match at that point.

"After round six, I scored the rest of the rounds in Manny Pacquiao's favor," Tolentino said.

"I thought in the 11th and 12th round he could've coasted, but he was still aggressive. He wanted to go for a knockout. He wanted to end that streak of winning without a knockout."

Tolentino liked what he saw in Vargas, but beating the quicker Pacquiao proved too much for the dethroned champion.

"(Vargas) came prepared. He did his homework. And do take note, Vargas stayed in front of Manny all throughout. He's not like other boxers who run. He was trading bombs with Manny, but like we keep on saying, Pacquiao's foot speed and hand speed were too much. That befuddled Jessie Vargas."

Floyd Mayweather and Terence Crawford, two of the fighters Tolentino thinks could be next up for Pacquiao, were in attendance at the Thomas & Mack Center to watch Pacquiao and Vargas.

Tolentino said Crawford has a more realistic shot at being Pacquiao's next opponent, and not Mayweather. He said Pacquiao could eye Crawford as a stepping stone for a Mayweather bout, possibly the final one of Pacquiao's career.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)