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Philippines, 05 May 2024 |
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LETTER FROM MILAN PhilBoxing.com Sat, 05 Sep 2009 Letter from Milan by Ed Picson Executive Director Amateur Boxixing Association of the Philippines Milan, Italy- Our participation here in the Milan World Championships has been totally awesome. Although its pretty early in the tournament, having won 3 of 4 matches is exhilarating. Bear in mind there are 144 countries and over 550 boxers entered in this high-level competition organized by AIBA (the International Boxing Federation). But our boxers are off to a sizzling start. The competition started Sept. 1 and will end Sept. 12. It will take 6 wins to win a gold medal here. Genebert Basadre, Joan Tipon and Charly Suarez have done us proud in the face of overwhelming odds. Although Joegin Ladon dropped his fight and has been eliminated, he fought like a man possessed against a guy who was easily 4 inches taller. The Brit, James Stalker was not just tall, he was also a polished fighter. Even ABAP president Ricky Vargas who watched Ladon's fight, enthusiastically acknowledged his fighting heart. He commended the Navy man for standing up to the much bigger opposition. The most impressive win in the group so far has been that of Charly Suarez of Panabo City, Davao del Norte. He also went up against a much taller fighter in Julian Stan of Romania, but was fleet of foot and delivered awesome combinations and deadly hooks that befuddled the hapless European. The sparse Filipino crowd shouted their voices hoarse as they were swept off their feet by Charly's magnificent performance. This afternoon, (Friday, Italy is 6 hours behind the Phil)) Basadre takes on his second assignment (vs. Carvaho of Brazil) and like the other boxers, his spirits are buoyed by the presence and support of the ABAP leadership led by Mr. Vargas and Mr. Patrick Gregorio, ABAP secretary-general. Our most heralded fighter, World Cup gold medalist Harry Tanamor debuts tomorrow against the European champion from Armenia. He has been raring to go and has been singularly focused in their twice-a-day daily training here. Joan Tipon will also see action for the second time. We're doing fine, the weather here is much like ours since it's summer in Italy. The boys have been missing Filipino food since they came from a three-week training stint in Cuba and came directly to Milan after. So we brought in a box load of Pinoy favorites, including noodles, bottled tuyo and tawilis, sardines, corned beef, pork and beans, 3-in-one coffee, Sky Flakes & Milo (oops! not an endorsement), etc. We also had to buy rice here becasue they don't care much for rissoto.This has provided much relief to our boys. Smart Pinoy GM Rey Yu is also providing service cell phone units to them so they can get in touch with their loved ones and this brought out a resounding cheer from the national boxers. Smart Pinoy, a subsidiary of PLDT Global, is a mobile service provider for Filipinos overseas and currently services Italy, Singapore and Hongkong. They funded the Philippine participation here, in cooperation with the Philippine Sports Commission. ABAP chair Manny V. Pangilinan has pledged P1M for a gold medal, P500 Thousand for silver and P250 Thousand for bronze. Pres. Vargas is also giving out cash incentives for every fight won here, both for the boxers and the coaches (Pat Gaspi and Ronald Chavez). Everyone is pulling together to give our boxers the support and motivation they need. They promise to pull out all the stops inside the ring. We urge our countrymen to do their part thorugh prayers. Mabuhay!  |
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