Palarong Pambansa: 5 Davao region boxers enter semis

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan - Five Davao Region pugs barged into the semi-finals to keep the boxing title-retention bid alive in the 2008 Palarong Pambansa at the Puerto Princesa Baywalk "Baybay" late Tuesday afternoon. Brothers Engelbert and John Vincent Moralde of Davao City hacked up contrasting wins in the quarter-finals. Engelbert beat Manrico Gemina of Northern Mindanao in a referee-stopped contest (RS), one minute and .07 seconds left in the first round of the paperweight division. John Vincent, for his part, triumphed on points, 25-6, against Jessie Alay of the Zamboanga Peninsula Region in powderweight event. Panabo City's Jerwin Ancajas, Mark Anthony Barriga, and Glenn Canteverde completed the sweeping performance of Davao Region's boxing team on the second day of competition. Ancajas defeated Bonifacio Fernando of Region 4-B Mimaropa Region on points, 35-16, in their light flyweight bout. Mosquitoweight Barriga won via RSC-outscore, 16-1, against Alladin Madidis of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) with just 24 seconds left in round 2. Canteverde also emerged victorious via RSC-O (32-12) over Zamboanga Peninsula, 1:55, in round 3 of the pinweight category. - Sun.Star Davao