CELEBRATION IT WAS when Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial won medals in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 led by former Baguio mayor Reinaldo Bautista, Jr. PML
The gold rush has started for the Philippine boxing team with University of Baguio lead the squad starting tonight.
Irish Magno, who won a silver medal in Vietnam, will start her quest for the elusive gold as eight of her team mates of the country’s boxing team barged into the finals late this week in the Southeast Asian Games at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center in Phnom Phen in Cambodia.
Olympian Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam led seven other Pinoy boxers to the finals this week. Philippine fighters who are seeking the gold are Norlan Petecio, Rogen Ladon, Ian Clark Bautista, and John Marvin joined Irish Magno and Riza Pasuit.
Paul Bascon and Paalam were actually the last to join as they won their respective matches Thursday where, however, Marcus Tongco, the 10th and last Filipino fighter fell.
Thhe Tokyo games silver medalist Nesthy defeated local Vy Sreysros via unanimous decision in the women’s featherweight class to remain on track of her redemption bid after settling for bronze last year in Vietnam.
The Petecio, Nesthy’s brother Norlan, moved closer to a gold when he registered a split decision win over Singapore’s Jun Jie Velvan Tan, 4-1, in the men’s 67kg.
Ladon also earned a split decision win to stay on pace for a third straight men gold in men’s when he beat Malaysia’s Muhammad Abdul Ariffin by a 4-1 score.
Bautista hoes to make it two straight gold after blanking Myanmar’s Naing Latt, 5-0, while Marvin clinched a unanimous decision victory over Cambodia’s Nasredinov Anvar.
Last Tuesday, Magno (women’s bantamweight) and Pasuit (women’s light welterweight), both from UB, qualified for the finals after eliminating their Indonesian and Singaporean foes, respectively.
On Thursday, Paalam (men’s bantamweight), Paul Julyfer Bascon (men’s lightweight), and Markus Tongco (men’s heavyweight), all but the last, won teir semifinal matches.
Paalam, another Olympic silver medalist, defeated Timor Leste’s Edegar da Silva; while Bascon decided another Cambodian in Touch Davit. But Tongco fell to Vietnam’s Manh Cuong Nguyen.
The boxing squad is expected to better its haul of three golds, one silver and five bronzes in the Vietnam SEA Games. Pigeon Lobien
