4 RP Pugs asam ang gold sa tammer cup

MANILA, Philippines - Tampere, Finland--Apat na gold medals ang tinatarget ng PLDT-ABAP na­tional boxing team sa 31st Tammer Cup dito sa Pyynikin Palloiluhallissa Sports Hall.

Ito ay matapos manalo ang mag-utol na sina Rey at Victorico Saludar, Charly Suarez at Delfin Boholts sa semifinal round patungo sa inaasam na gintong me­dalya.

Nanaig si Rey sa kanyang 52-kilogram semifinal bout laban kay Declan Gerraghty ng Ireland, 8-5, habang umiskor naman si Victorico ng 4-1 tagumpay kontra kay Russian Artem Ivaschenko.

Dinomina ni Suarez si Finnish Petteri Frojdholm, 7-2, sa kanilang 56-kilogram encounter, samanta­lang iginupo ni Boholst si Jarkko Putkonen, 6-0, sa 64-kilogram class.

“A great effort by our boxers, truly inspiring and heart­warming,” wika ni Ama­teur Boxing Associa­tion of the Philippines (ABAP) executive director Ed Picson.

“I just hope they do well in the finals. Our main goal here is to expose them to the European style of boxing in preparation for the coming Asian Games. Of course, it would be great if they do win,” dagdag pa nito.

Makatapat ni Victorio si Charlie Edwards ng England sa finals at ma­kakatagpo naman ni Suarez si Matti Koota ng Finland.

Ito ang huling bahagi ng “Road to Asian Games” blueprint nina ABAP president Ricky Vargas at chairman Manny V. Pangilinan ng telecommunications giant PLDT.

Nagsimula ang programa sa isang box-offs sa Baguio at Manila patungo sa training camps at tournaments sa China at United States at isang international tournament na Manila-the MVP Cup.