Rookie pugs assured of 2 bronzes

HO CHI MINH CITY–Behind the gutsy performances of a couple of rookie internationalists, RP Team Revicon assured itself of at least two bronze medals just after Wednesday’s opening night of the Pre-SEA Games Boxing Championships at the Phan Dinh Phung Stadium here.

Flyweight Glen Gonzales and bantamweight Joan Tipon got the ball rolling for the Filipinos with convincing victories that more than made up for the painful loss absorbed by lightwelter Mark Melligen in the five-nation event being held in the heart of this large Vietnamese city also known as Saigon.

Gonzales, an 18-year-old from North Cotabato, registered the tournament’s first stoppage when he forced Vietnam’s Nguyen Viet Linh into submission with still 1:15 remaining in the third of a scheduled four-rounder. The Filipino was way ahead on points when the referee stopped the bout.

Gonzales scored heavily with his left jab-right straight combinations that led to two standing eight counts against the local bet — the first with 38 seconds left and the second with just seven ticks remaining in the second round. A couple more right straights in a neutral corner signalled the end of the bout.

Gonzales was so determined to do well in his first overseas trip that not even a five-minute lull early in the opening round failed to stop his momentum. Officials took five minutes to replace the faltering scoring machines of all five judges while the two fighters stood on separate neutral corners.

Tipon, a 21-year-old from Talisay, Negros Occ., showed great footwork and a lot of promise in carving out a 20-8 victory over Thailand 2’s Kongdech Vaitam. Quite tall at 5-foot-7 and armed with a long reach, Tipon started to hit his target, probably an inch taller, in the second round then started to pile up the points.

Tipon used the ring to his advantage in the third round, dancing away while throwing right straights that often staggered the Thai. At times, Tipon also shifted to southpaw in a fine display of ring craftsmanship. He slowed down a bit in the final round but was still clearly in full control of the match.

Gonzales and Tipon, part of the six-man RP Team Revicon sent here by the Philippine Sports Commission, Pacific Heights, Accell and Family Rubbing Alcohol, will shoot for the finals berths when they return to action Friday against Lei Wu Shui of China and Sornchai Saraban of Thailand 2, respectively.

"Go for the gold," was the short text message from boxing chief Manny Lopez Thursday which will have pinweight Juanito Magliquian and lightfly Godfrey Castro also eyeing for the bronze against boxers from Vietnam.

Melligen, only 17 years old and also a rookie internationalist, was just unfortunate to have met Thailand 1’s Pongsak Hriathuan in his opening match Wednesday. He put up a good, gutsy fight against the Sydney Olympian but fell just a couple of punches short in a 6-7 loss.

Melligen showed great potential as a light-welter despite the fact that he‘s been with the national team for only eight months. A lefty, Melligen squared it off with the two-time SEA Games silver medalist. He threw more punches but the 28-year-old Thai landed the clearer ones. It was obvious who the veteran was on top of the ring.

"Sayang po. Kulang pa. Magulang na ang kalaban," said Melligen later on. But despite the loss, the native of Bacolod City got the nod of coaches Vicente Arsenal and Elmer Pamisa, referee/judge Dante de Castro, and team manager Ruben Roque.

Notes: More than a dozen Filipinos based in this southern Vietnamese city provided the needed support for the members of the RP Team Revicon when they showed up at the venue to cheer on their fighting countrymen. Led by Cirilo Carlos Jr., general manager of a rent-a-car business here, the Filipino group of fans cheered their hearts out and promised to be around until the finals of the five-day tournament. While Vietnam struggled in opening day, losing five of its first six bouts, China and Laos showed tremendous improvement. The Chinese, hell-bent on making an impact in boxing when they host the 2008 Olympics, won all three bouts, including a first-round TKO by bantam Deng Xie Long, while Laos, now being coached by a Cuban, went 2-of-3, winning in the 51 kg and 54 kg and losing in the 64 kg. A Vietnamese reporter said he doesn’t mind losing. What’s important, he said, is that his country is back supporting a program for amateur boxing. "Eight years our government stopped program. It’s back two years now and we have Russian coach. Vietnam happy to host this event and the SEA Games," he said. This is the first boxing tournament to be held in Vietnam in long while, leading up to an even bigger event-—the 22nd SEA Games in December.