MANILA, 4 October — After frustration comes redemption for the Filipino boxers in the ongoing Busan Asian Games.
An Olympic campaigner, an Asian Games medalist, a fearless Fil-American and a couple of young, gifted fighters in the lighter divisions will carry the heavy load for the Philippine boxing team as they vow golden performance in Busan.
After an eight-year medal drought in the prestigious regional games, Philippine boxing team coach George Caliwan is brimming with confidence that his fighters will finally deliver the goods this time.
“The signs look good,” said the 51-year-old Caliwan on the eve of their departure to Busan. “They boys are confident because they have trained long enough to be in top mental and physical shape to bring home the bacon again.”
The crack Filipino boxers are hoping to equal or even surpass the country’s performance in the Hiroshima Asiad in 1994 where three glittering gold medals were brought home by Mansuteto “Onyok” Velasco, Reynaldo Galido and Elias Recaido Jr.
But Filipino pugs failed to win a gold in the last edition of the games in Bangkok four years ago.
Caliwan and his assistant, Nolito “Boy” Velasco pin their hopes on promising Violito Payla, a 23-year-old flyweight from Cagayan de Oro City who has captured four gold medals so far in his campaign abroad in preparation for the quadrennial games.
“We are confident he (Payla) will win the gold,” said the two coaches.
After reigning supreme in the Balado Cup in Cuba last year, Payla claimed three golds in a row in the Chowdry Cup in Azerbaijan, Tammer Cup in Finland and Acropolis Cup in Greece this year before settling for a bronze in the Pyongyang international championships in North Korea last month.
Payla and five of the seven other RP boxers are Asiad first-timers, but Caliwan is not worried at all.
“They are young yet true fighters, and they will surely give their best shots in Pusan,” said Caliwan, who was also head coach of the Philippine team that won three gold medals in Hiroshima.
The other newcomers are Harry Tanamor (light-flyweight), Ferdie Gamo (bantamweight), Roel Laguna (featherweight), Christopher Camat (light-middleweight) — a Fil-American who had to leave a steady job in the US last year just to join the national team — and Maraon Goles (light-heavyweight), who captured a gold in Pyongyang.
Tanamor and Payla are tipped to emerge as the brightest medal prospects come fight time as the two fighters, both in their early 20s and weighing just over a hundred pounds, seem to carry the heavier punch among their counterparts.
Standing at the forefront of the Filipinos’ campaign are two grizzled veterans — Sydney Olympian Romeo Brin, a light welterweight, and Anthony Igusquisa, a lightweight.
Brin, who saw action in the 2002 Sydney Olympics and a veteran of the last two Asiads, will compete in the light-welterweight class, and will act as the leader of the eight-man squad determined to erase bitter memories of its past failures in the international arena.
Also considered as pillars of the squad known as Team Caltex is Igusquiza, a bronze medalist in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games.
“All our boxers are medal prospects. We are not sending anybody who doesn’t have a chance of winning,” said amateur boxing president Manny Lopez.
The Philippines won just a single bronze in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games through featherweight Eric Canoy then failed to win any medal in the Sydney Olympics and in last year’s Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
“That’s why after the Kuala Lumpur Games, I ordered the coaching staff to immediately go back to work,” said Lopez. “And this includes sending our boxers to international competitions in countries like Finland, Greece, Bosnia, Thailand and just recently North Korea.”
Velasco is expecting tough opposition from the host country, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Thailand.
It would be recalled that the South Koreans swept all the 12 boxing golds when they hosted the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul.
The Thais, who have emerged as the dominant group in Southeast Asia, could also be dangerous rivals.
One of their entries here is flyweight Somjit Jongjohor, who pulled off a narrow points victory over Payla in the quarterfinals of last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia.
But Velasco pointed out that Payla has previously beaten many of the entries in his class in the Pusan Games. Among his past victims were Indian Jitender Kumar, Iranian Mojitaba Farajieraei and Japanese Kaoru Murahashi.
There were also other entries Gamo and Tanamor had met and beat soundly. These included bantam Akbar Ahadi Hir of Iran and Talaibek Kadyraliev of Kyrgyzstan and Korean light fly Lee Sung Won.
“The boys had swapped punches with many more of these fighters in many important tournaments,” said Caliwan and Velasco as they went through the long boxing entry list. “But, of course, the Asian Games competition is going to be different.”
There are several factors beyond their control to consider, according to the two veteran coaches.
“One is the luck of the draw,” said Caliwan, referring to the boxing draw.
But according to Caliwan, the most important thing going for the boys is their confidence and strong determination to repeat what fellow boxers Velasco, Galido and Recaido had accomplished eight years ago in Hiroshima.
In the 1998 Bangkok Asiad, the Philippines won just one gold, courtesy of the 9-ball pair of Romeo Villanueva and Gandy Valle, aside from two silver and eight bronze medals.
In 1994 Hiroshima Games, the country bagged three gold, seven silver and 12 bronze medals.
Earlier, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Celso Dayrit and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Eric Buhain, expressed belief the 218-athlete Philippine delegation could bring home at least four gold medals.
“The RP team is prepared. It is better prepared than in the past so we expect to perform better.
We hope and expect to do better than in 1998. Our athletes will be good for a minimum of five gold medals and if we’re lucky enough it could go as high as 10,” said Dayrit.
Dayrit believes at least seven sports will deliver the goods for the country, one of which is boxing.
“Pound for pound, our boxers can match up with the rest. But we must not only expect the best from the boxers but also the best in terms of judging.
I really hope this Asian Games is going to be a turning point in our sports history,” Dayrit said. Buhain was more conservative, saying he expects to win four to seven gold medals. But if the breaks come in the way of the 218 Filipino athletes competing in Pusan, Dayrit’s prediction or target can easily be achieved. “I’ve been talking to the coaches and the athletes and I would like to make a conservative estimate of four to seven gold medals that may come from billiards, wushu, boxing, taekwondo, golf, bowling, cycling and karatedo. If the breaks come, what Mr. Dayrit said is very possible,” he said.
