MANILA, 24 January 2003 — Recognizing the Philippines’ expertise in organizing big events, the International Amateur Boxing Association tasked the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines to stage the 2004 Asian Boxing Championships next year.
Set Jan. 10-18 next year, the event will also serve as the first of three Asian region qualifying tournaments for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
“This is great honor for the Philippines. The AIBA has acknowledged our experience in staging prestigious and big international tournaments successfully,” said ABAP President Manny Lopez, currently the secretary-general of Federation of Asian Amateur Boxing.
In a letter sent to the ABAP, AIBA President Anwar Chowdhry said: “I am confirming that the Philippines has been awarded the hosting of the Asian Boxing Championships for the year 2004 to be held in Manila on Jan. 10 to 18, 2004 with a rest day on the 15th.
“The increase in the days of competition is because of the expected number of participating boxers in this tournament, especially as it will be a qualifying tournament (for the Olympics) also. I am confident that with the experience that your association has in staging such tournaments, it will be one of the most well-organized championships in Asia.” The two other Olympics qualifying tournaments will be held in China in March and Pakistan in June, also next year.
PSC asks Congress for Palaro budget
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Eric Buhain said he will try to convince both the Senate and the House of Representatives to appropriate the needed budget for this year’s Palarong Pambansa.
Buhain met with Lanao del Norte Rep. Abdullah Dimaporo recently to draft the request and consider the PSC’s role in the Palaro, the country’s biggest search for the next sporting greats.
“I’m sure they will understand that when the Department of Education transferred the Palaro functions to us, the sports budget wasn’t included,” Buhain said.
In more than 30 years that the Education Department has held the Palaro, it had a regular source of funds, he added.
“But for the past three years, we have been getting our funds from several sources,” Buhain said.
“There is a need to have a line function which will ensure that there will be a Palaro every year,” added Buhain, referring to the House Budget and Management committee led by Rep. Nonoy Andaya.
This year’s Palaro is set to be held in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, at the newly-built Mindanao Civic Center through the efforts of Rep. Dimaporo and his wife, Gov. Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo.
“The Dimaporos have been coordinating closely with the PSC regarding the Palaro, which is important in the country’s calendar of sports development programs,” said Buhain.
Six-footer-only basketball tourney set
Six teams, with no player standing below six feet and no one older than 18, are being formed to compete in the Alberto D. Lina Junior 6-foot and above Basketball Championship slated from Jan. 28-Feb. 22.
The tournament, organized by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) and Air 21, will be participated in by selections from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Capital Region Athletic Association, the Colleges and Universities Sports Association, Tong Lian and the RP Youth Team.
A project of Alberto Lina, chair of Air 21 and one of the BAP’s vice presidents, the tournament aims to discover young and tall players for the Philippine team.
Under the scheme, each team will be provided with a sponsor from the Philippine Basketball Association, which will also allow the use of its utility staff during the duration of the tournament. The BAP, through secretary-general Graham Lim, had sent out invitations to the school leagues and Tong Lian. Proceeds of the ticket sales will be divided among the BAP, the Philippine Sportswriters Association and the six competing teams.
RP football captain turns pro, signs with Vietnamese team
Philippine national football team captain Alfredo Gonzalez has signed up to join the Eastern Asia Bank Team in Vietnam, making him the second Filipino to play in a major foreign professional league.
East Asia Bank made the announcement in Ho Chi Minh City, saying that Gonzalez and the team agreed to a one-year contract with an option for a second year.
Details of the contract were not disclosed, but it is believed to have performance-based incentives attached to it.
The team also said Gonzalez is arguably the best football player to come out of the Philippines Eastern Asia Bank, one of Vietnam’s top professional football teams, expects Gonzalez to compete for a role in the team’s attack. He will most likely partner with Vietnam’s top player and captain Le Huynh Duc in the team’s frontline. Gonzalez credits his family’s support, his youth football mentor, Tomas Lozano, and past and present Philippine national managers, Juan Cutillas and Sugao Kambe, for preparing him to play professionally.
