Tanamor heads RP overseas bid

Asian Games silver medallist Harry Tanamor heads the six-man RP-Revicon Boxing team leaving tonight for a three-country swing that will take them to Lithuania, Spain and Greece.

The 24-year-old Tanamor, who was beaten by a South Korean for the 48 kg crown in last year’s Busan Asiad, will be joined by Warlito Parrenas (51kg) Arlan Lerio (54kg), Jenebert Basadre (57kg), Esmael Bacongon (61 kg) and Florencio Ferrer (64 kg).

Their first stop will be the seventh A. Socikas international boxing tournament set May 14-17 in Kaunas, Lithuania.

The boxers will be accompanied by head coach Patricio Gaspi, assistant coach Alex Arroyo and international referee/judge Mar de Guia.

Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Manny Lopez is the delegation head of the RP Revicon team being supported by Pacific Heights, the Philippine Sports Commission and outfitted by Accel.

"We’ll use these tournaments to assess the performance of our boxers. This will have a bearing on the composition of the national team to the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games and the Olympic qualifying tournament in Manila in January," said Lopez.

After Lithuania, RP Revicon will proceed to Sevilla, Spain for the Boxing international championships slated May 18-25 and then head for Athens for the 24th Acropolis Cup international tournament set May 28-June 2.

"This team is a combination of old and new faces and we’re hopeful that the boxers will put up a creditable performance," added Lopez.

Aside from Tanamor, the coaching staff is pinning their hopes on Lerio, a multi-titles veteran who is returning to action after reaching the second round in the Sydney Olympics,

Bacongon is also making a comeback while Parrenas, Basadre and Ferrer are raring to establish their reputation in the international scene.