Banal suffers cruel defeat
KIEV, Ukraine – The second day of the 2013 AIBA Junior World Boxing championships proved to be a shocker for the PLDT-ABAP national team as one of their top bets succumbed in a slambang affair that the delegation thought they surely won.
Hipolito Banal Jr., 16, looked like he delivered the clearer punches in several exchanges against Azerbaijan's Eljan Gafarli but three judges found it for the Azeri, all with identical scores of 29-28 in three rounds. Banal is younger brother of ALA Boxing Gym stalwart AJ "Bazooka" Banal.
The 10-point must system is now used in Olympic-style boxing, giving a mandated 10 points to the boxer whom a judge feels has won the round. In this case, the judges gave Gafarli two rounds and Banal one.
The championships are being held at the impressive Kiev Sports Palace in this capital city around 480 miles west of Moscow, with 56 countries represented by 351 boxers aged 15-16 years old.— (FREEMAN)
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