Changing lives, like the pursuit for an Olympic gold, may come in different forms and packages.
?Kung may PLDT na nag-sponsor na sa boxing nung panahon ko, tulad ng ginagawa nila sa kabataan nga-yon, siguro may narating ako bilang boksingero [If there was already a company like PLDT that supported boxing during my time, I could have been in a better status in life right now, probably a professional boxer],? says 50-year-old Alejandro Tibayan, a tricycle driver from Cabantuan City, Nueva Ecija, as he watches from the sidelines the games during the four-day PLDT-Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (Abap) Luzon-wide Amateur Boxing Challenge held last month at the Subic Bay Gym in Olongapo City.
As part of its corporate social responsibility program, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) reaches out to the youth from the grassroots level with the aim to secure a better future for them through sports, as it ties up with the Abap in conducting the nationwide boxing talent search.
The event was participated in by more than 200 boxers, comprising 16 teams from provinces as far as Sorsogon and the island of Romblon. Ages range from 11 to 18, competing in 56 divisions based on weight, from 26 kilos (kids) to 60 kilos (youth).
Not a mere spectator, Mang Alejandro is serving as coach and head delegate of the boxing team from their province. Though you can hardly call it a team, because unlike most delegates from the provinces who have dozens of members, Mang Alejandro was able to bring only two boxers.
?We were supposed to have seven, but we have no allowance. That?s why there are only the three of us in the team. The election period has just finished, so we can?t expect much funds this time,? he says sheepishly in Filipino, with a wry smile and lines on his face already showing his age.
Though he earns a living as a tricycle driver, Mang Alejandro finds time to impart his knowledge in the ring to the youngsters of Cabanatuan City, for free. In the 1970s Mang Alejandro was one of the promising boxers in their province, winning in local tournaments.
?But, of course, you can only go as far as that. You got to earn a living and raise a family. Boxing doesn?t pay that much at the time, although it?s been a popular sports among Filipinos. Those were the days of Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde. He was our Manny Pacquiao,? Mang Alejandro recalls.
Then again, his dream of being a pound-for-pound boxer could now be realized by his one and only son, 13-year-old Ariel, who won the gold medal in the light mosquito-weight (38 kg) category-School Boy Division in the boxing event.
Mang Alejandro did his share as coach. The young Tibayan had won the gold medal twice (2009 and 2010) in the annual Central Luzon Regional Athletic Association sports meet.
?But the PLDT-Abap tournament is tougher because it covers the whole Luzon area. We really trained hard for this one,? adds Mang Alejandro.
The other player he was able to bring to Subic is 16-year-old Joshua Sapaden, who won bronze at the paperweight category (44 kg) in the Junior Division.
In an interview after winning his game, Sapaden confessed that he wants to become a professional boxer, but if there?s no opportunity and support in the future, he will pursue another dream that he thinks is more achievable.
?I?d probably become a soldier,? says Sapaden, the youngest in a brood of eight. Both of his parents died already and now he is being supported by his older siblings.
Mang Alejandro hopes that Sapaden and his son will not end up like him.
?I wish PLDT will continue its support to young boxers who have limited resources. Like in our case, we lack the necessary equipment. We don?t even have a punching bag in Cabanatuan,? Mang Alejandro adds.
Just imagine if he were able to bring all the boxers in his team, but couldn?t make it due to lack of funds. They will surely bring home more medals. Mang Alejandro hopes that his son Ariel and prot?g? Sapaden, as well as the other boxers from his home city, will become professional boxers and lead a well-off future.
His views are shared by Arsenio Perez Jr., coach-manager of the Olongapo City Team. ?Napakaganda ng ginagawa ng PLDT para sa kabataan, maiiwas sila sa bisyo sa pamamagitan ng sports tulad ng boxing [What PLDT is doing for the youth is excellent. Through sports, I believe, the youth of Olongapo won?t go astray, like engaging in destructive vices such as drug addiction],? says Perez, who is also the full-time coach-trainer of the Olongapo City Amateur Boxing Association (Ocaba).
Call it home-court advantage, he has seven boxers competing in the pinweight, flyweight, featherweight, mosquito and middleweight categories.
Perez is lucky to have a very supportive city government, which, as of press time, is led by Mayor James Gordon. In his speech during the opening ceremony, Gordon thanked PLDT chairman Manny V. Pangilinan (who he said was his schoolmate in Ateneo) for choosing Olongapo City as the venue. He said proper nutrition is very important for boxers, not only training and having the right equipment.
The Olongapo City team won two golds for Carlo John Espartero in the paperweight category (44 kg) and Leonard Guevarra in the mosquitoweight category (38 kg); one silver for John Mark Pajareto in the pinweight (Junior Division); and broze for Michael Perez in the pinweight (Young Boys Division).
The Ocaba has produced two boxers in the previous national team. They are AJ Martin, a Fil-Am who competed in the middle-weight division, and Larry Abarra in the bantamweight division.
First time to join in the Abap Boxing Challenge is the Romblon Team, which has 10 boxers and four officials. Bong Lim, president of the Amateur Boxing Organization of Romblon (Abor), said they were initially short of funds and almost gave up in joining but because of PLDT, they were able to make it.
?Hirap talaga kami sa pondo, kasi tatawid pa kami ng dagat [We are really in need of financial support because we are the farthest province. We are on an island, so we have to cross the seas],? Lim says in a light mood. Like the other teams, Lim hopes his boxers will qualify in the national finals and join the London Olympics in 2012.
It was Abap executive director Ed Picson who went to Romblon and personally invited Abor to join this year.
Another team joining for the first time and which also needs to travel for more than 12 hours is the eight-member contingent from Tinambak town in Camarines Sur.
Says head delegate Arlene Abordo, ?We can?t imagine going as far as Subic to join a boxing tournament like this. Our town is full of boxing fans and aspiring boxers. For us adults, even if we don?t get paid for our coaching services, we are willing to help for free.?
The other delegates came from nearby Angeles City, La Union, San Pablo City in Laguna, Siniloan (Laguna), Nueva Vizcaya, Tayabas City in Quezon, Iba and San Antonio towns in Zambales, Bamban town in Tarlac, Casiguran in CamSur, Tarlac City and Baguio City.
The PLDT-Abap Amateur Boxing Challenge aims to tap hidden talents among the youth in the grassroots level and secure a better future for them. During the competition, participants and spectators were able to try the PLDT MyDSL Watchpad and PLDT Call All wireless landline service at the Speedster Bus parked in front of the Subic Bay gym.
The Luzon slugfest will be followed by a similar talent search in Visayas, Mindanao and the National Capital Region before the year ends. The national finals will be held in an undisclosed venue in the first quarter of 2011, where the winners will automatically join the national team that will compete in the London Olympics in 2012 and other international boxing competition.
?This is in line with the vision of our chairman, Manny V. Pangilinan, not only to hone the next Manny Pacquiao but fulfill our dream for an Olympic gold medal in boxing and, in the process, to provide the underprivileged youth the necessary scientific training to hone world-class boxers,? said Adolfo Teodoro ?Dodie? Lucas, PLDT assistant vice president for retail marketing and media.
Reassuringly, with such support, the dreams of Mang Alejandro and his son Ariel, as well as thousands of untapped boxing talents?be they coaches or players?in far-flung towns and cities will soon become a reality. In Photo: The future Pacquiaos from Tayabas, Quezon and PLDT officers Adolfo Lucas (left), PLDT AVP for retail marketing media; and Emil Tanchico, PLDT first vice president-human resources head, lend their presence at Abap?s 2010 Subic boxing competition.
