THE road to winning a boxing gold medal in the Asian Games may be a grueling one, but Alliance of Boxing Association of the Philippines (Abap) coaches Pat Gaspi and Roel Velasco believe this will soon reap reward during the quadrennial meet.
Gaspi said the Philippine boxing team has lined up several trainings and competitions abroad for the squad to be prepared during the Asiad to be hosted by Palembang – Jakarta, Indonesia, this August.
?Before yung Asian Games, meron tayong mga exposure sa ibang bansa at the same time may mga target din kaming training camp sa ibang bansa, hopefully matuloy para pag ? dating ng Asian Games preparado yung ating mga boxers,? said Gaspi.
Gaspi said they are eyeing training and competition in Cuba, Italy among others to hone the skills of the boxers who will represent the country next year.
Rogen Ladon, Charly Suarez, Eumir Felix Marcial, Carlo Paalam Mario Fernandez and other amateur standouts are currently holed out here in Baguio City as the squad gears up for the Asian Games, according to Velasco.
Velasco added the team will also see action in a tournament in Poland as part of their build ? up for the Asiad.
The former Olympian said he remains optimistic of an improved finish for the boxing squad after a dismal performance during the 2014 edition where the team took home three silver and two bronze.
Velasco said the country will be sending at least 12 fighters, including two female boxers for the Asian Games.
This week, Velasco said boxers Nesty Petecio, Ian Clark Bautista, Dennis Galvan and Irish Magno are currently seeing action in the Feliks Stamm Memorial OSiR Ochota in Warsaw, Poland which started March 12 to 18.
“Para sa exposure ito ng mga boxers natin and gauge ng performance nila para malaman natin kung dapat silang maisali sa line-up ng Asian games,” he said. (Roderick Osis)
