Castro, Basadre still in contention for Olympic boxing slots

Flyweight Godfrey Castro is aiming for a ticket to the Beijing Olympics in the first of his two opportunites, while compatriot lightweight Genebert Basadre faces a make-or-fail match in the semifinals of the second and last AIBA Olympic Boxing Qualfying Tournament held on Saturday (Sunday in the Philippines) at the Sports Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan. According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP), Castro faces G. Donirayov of Uzbekistan while Basadre meets Merey Akshalov of Kazakhstan in a pair of last-four bouts where the winners get into the gold medal fight and earn spots in the Beijing Olympics. Of the two, Castro has the better position, because even if loses he will get a second chance by facing the loser between Mirat Sarsembayev of Kazakhstan and Kumar Jintender of India in a box-off for the third Olympic berth offered in their weight division. "It's a must-win for the two boys," ABAP president Manny Lopez said. "There will be no tomorrow for Genebert (Basadre) if he loses, while Godfrey (Castro) must not wait for the second chance. But it will be very tough since the two are facing not only experienced and well-trained fighters but also the crowd favorites." "The crowd here will play an important role in the fights. I just hope the judges will not be influenced by their cheering," Lopez added. Castro and Basadre did not join the group which had a short tour of Astana last Friday and kept themselves busy refining their game under the watchful eyes of coaches Pat Gaspi and Nolito Velasco, Cuban consultant EnriqueTissert, and team physician Dr. Randolph Molo. "So far so good," Tissert said. "I don't see any problem with their condition. We will not have any problem in the ring tomorrow (Saturday) but we should hope for the best outside (the ring)." Tissert was referring to the result of Thursday bouts when featherweight Orlando Tacuyan Jr. lost his quarterfinals bout against Kim Won Guk of North Korea ?not on the ring but through the scoring by the judges, who refused to score his hits in the third round. With that fight in mind, the Filipino coaches said that Castro and Basadre must try to avoid infighting and clinching since this is the best way the judges could manipulate the scores. "Ayos naman po ang kondisyon ko. Dapat makuha ko na ito sa Sabado at lahat ay ibubuhos ko sa labang ito," vowed the 24-year-old Castro, who won the light flyweight bronze medal in the 2006 Doha Asian games as a replacement for Harry Tanamor and who made the team as a replacement for an injured Violito Payla. The low-key Basadre, also a bronze medalist in the Doha Asian Games like Castro, would only say that he would give his best for his fight against the local Kazakhstan hero. "Pipilitin ko po na huwag pansinin ang mga tao dahil alam ko na pipilitin nila na mawala ako sa konsentrasyon," Basadre said. Castro reached the semifinals by beating Giesedin Saliev of Kyrgiztan, 32-9, in the preliminaries and Liu Shih-jung of Taiwan, 23-11, in the quarterfinals. Basadre made the last-eight group by ousting Paulus Paunandes of Malaysia, 21-2, in his first fight and Khawaja Muhebshah of Afghanistan, 14-0, in the quarterfinals. The two other members of the five-man team sent in the Olympic qualifier by PLDT, Smart, Philippine Sports Commission and Pacific Heights, bantamweight Joan Tipon and light welterweight Delfin Boholst, lost their initital bouts. - GMANews.TV