Ormoc City, Kananga town to host Visayas leg of ABAP tourney

MANILA, Philippines – Ormoc City and Kananga town in Leyte will co-host the 1st Smart/Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines boxing tournament where boxers from different Visayas provinces hoping to use the competition as stepping stone in making it to the elite Philippine national boxing team. The event, open to kids 11 to 19 years old, will be divided into kids (11 to 12) and youth categories (under-19). This is also part of ABAP’s long-term program that aims to win for the country its first ever Olympic gold. ABAP, under its new leadership headed by chairman Manny Pangilinan and president Ricky Vargas is now busy preparing for the 2012 London Olympics. The elimination round will be held at the Kananga Municipal gym while the semis and finals will be staged at the Ormoc City Plaza on March 25 to 26. As expected, perennial winner Bago City boxing team is out to prove their worth as home to world class amateur boxers especially now that they are training under former Olympian Leopoldo Cantancio. Bago City, which recently spent millions in rehabilitating its ABAP gym, is home to several amateur champions led by Olympic medalists and brothers Onyok and Roel Velasco. Onyok won the silver in the 1996 Atlanta Games while Roel was a bronze medalist in the 1992 Barcelona edition. Many-time international campaigners Reynaldo Galido, Isidro Vicera and Larry Semillano also trace their boxing roots in Bago City. Bacolod is out to challenge Bago City as amateur boxing’s hotbed since it has also produced world champions in the pro ranks namely former world minimum weight champion Joma Gamboa and current 105-lb king Donnie Nietes. Bacolod is coming off a successful campaign in the recently concluded 2009 Smart National Open, Youth and Women’s Amateur Boxing Championships ending up as the overall champion. Gamboa’s father Cesar Sr. is now Bacolod’s head coach while Nietes’ nephew Gerson is now part of the national training pool in Baguio City. Northern Samar Governor and ABAP Region VIII president Raul Daza insists the home court advantage will be a factor in their own quest of producing world class fighters as more boxers will be available from Samar, Leyte and Biliran provinces. Also joining are boxers from Cebu, Tagbilaran Dumaguete and Ormoc. “The Leyte competition will give our aspiring boxers in the countryside all the opportunities to surface and be recognized and hopefully, be part of the national pool," said Vargas. Luzon will host the next ABAP tournament on April 14 to 18 followed by the Mindanao leg on May 10 to 15 and Southern Tagalog June 5 to 10. – GMANews.TV