MANILA, Aug 10– Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) bound boxers face a daunting task — to improve or equal their sterling performance in the last edition of the regional biennial sports meet.
For the record, the Filipino boxers harvested 5-3-2 (gold-silver-bronze) for a total of 10 medals in the 2015 SEAG held in Singapore.
For decades, boxing, athletics and billiards are the traditional sports disciplines that have been the shining armor for the Philippines.
Athletics collected 5-7-9 (gold-silver-bronze) and highlighted the medal campaign for the Philippines in the 28th edition of the games.Twelve other sports supported the country’s sixth place finished.
In the forthcoming 29th SEAG in Kuala Lumpur, the Filipino boxers morale was boosted after their two-gold medal haul in the just-concluded 2017 ASBC Asian Junior Boxing Championships topped by regional power Kazakhstan.
The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) was elated with the performance of the national team in the Asian junior boxing tilt and is now focusing efforts in the SEA Games and the World Games in September.
Olympian boxer Charly Suarez will banner the 6-man Philippine campaign.
Come backing Suarez, who will be fighting in the light welterweight category, has captured two golds in separate categories in the past editions of the regional meet.
He won the gold as a flyweight in 2009, and again ruled the featherweight class in 2011.
The other members of the team are Carlo Paalam (48 kg), Eumir Felix Marcial (75 kg), Ian Clark Bautista (52 kg), Mario Fernandez (56 kg) and Marvin John Nobel Tupas (kg). (PNA)
