Glory road
November 24, 2006 | 2540 views
WORDS: B.A. BORLEO & JASMINE W. PAYOPHOTOGRAPHY: OCS ALVAREZ, VINCENT COSCUELLA AND HEIDI R. PASCUAL
BOXING
‘LABAN KUNG LABAN KAMI!’
At the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan, the Philippine delegation brought home a total of 13 medals, three of them gold. The three gold medals—and a couple of bronzes—were the product of one of the greatest boxing selection the country has ever sent to the quadrennial event. Twelve years and two Asian meets later, the national boxing team could only salvage a lone silver and bronze, a far cry from their predecessors. But as our hopes of redemption dims, in comes National Coach Pat Gaspi, giving us enough reasons to believe that come Christmas, Filipinos and boxing will no longer be solely associated to singing pug Pacquiao.
How ready are your boys for the competition?
They are as ready as they can be. After our SEA Games stint, we took a brief leave then sabak na ulit kami sa training in February. We hiked up to our regular training venue in Baguio, day after day pinupukpok ko sila sa training para lang dito sa Asian Games. Then, kahit na kinulang tayo sa funds, naipilit pa rin nating bigyan ng exposure ang mga bata outside of the country. We went to Turkey, Thailand, Pakistan, then huli na nga itong sa Finland.
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