Pinoy fighters brace for overall crown in Vietnam

HO CHI MINH CITY–RP Team Revicon pressed its bid for the overall championship here with three fighters, all well-coached, fully-trained and highly-motivated, moving into the finals of the Pre-SEA Games Boxing Championships at the Phan Dinh Phung Stadium Friday evening.

Pinweight Juanito Magliquian, a veteran of four SEA Games since 1995, opened the gates for the Filipino surge in this exotic Vietnamese city also known as Saigon, and was ably followed by rookie internationalists Glenn Gonzales, a flyweight, and Joan Tipon, a bantamweight.

The championship bouts in the tournament, which attracted nine teams from five nations will be held Sunday with RP Team Revicon vying for the gold in three divisions

Magliquian, who won the pinweight gold during the 1999 Brunei SEAG, kept Vong Pakhoune Sikham of Laos on the run en route to a 23-7 victory while Gonzales turned China’s Lei Wu Shui into a virtual punching bag until the referee stopped the contest in the closing seconds of the third round. There were three standing eight counts.

Tipon, probably the best bantamweight in the amateur ranks after Sydney Olympian Arlan Lerio, was a joy to watch on top of the ring as he defeated Sornchai Saraban, 21-5. It was the second victory over a Thai opponent in three days for the 5-foot-7 Tipon, a promising 21-year-old from Talisay, Negros Occidental.

It’s very seldom for a Filipino boxer to enjoy a height advantage. And Tipon made good use of it, throwing good, snappy jabs and powerful straights as he moved around and shifted from left to right ala Thomas Hearns. He shuffled his feet and connected with his hands, and threw good punches even when he’s backing off.

These three victories somehow softened the impact of lightfly Godfrey Castro’s painful 10-17 loss to Vietnam’s Le Van Tri. The Filipino settled for the bronze.

"Whatever happens in the finals, I’m proud of these boxers. Except for Magliquian who is a veteran, these boxers are the newest products of our grassroots development program. I’m sure they will go a long way," said RP amateur boxing president Manny Lopez who called in from Manila Friday evening.

In the finals, Magliquian faces Kaew Pongprayoon of Thailand 1, Gonzales meets Nguyen Kien Cuong of Vietnam 1 while Tipon squares off with Deng Xue Long, a veteran of the 2000 Sydney Olympics from China 1.

NOTES: If there’s one lesson learned in Godrey Castro’s loss Friday evening, it’s the fact that in amateur boxer, it’s not over until it’s over. Thinking that he was way ahead on points after dominating his Vietnamese opponent in the first three rounds, he danced away in the final round, at times spreading his arms, taunting his rival and looking like a sure winner. He was wrong–on all counts. When the final decision was announced, he fell on his knees and covered his face with his bandaged hands. He was shocked. Later on in the dugout, he cried like a child as he took a mouthful from coach Vicente Arsenal. "Hindi mo dapat ginawa yun. Hindi naman ikaw ang judge bakit mo iisipin na panalo ka na. Lalung-lalu na at taga-rito pa ang kalaban mo," said the coach. In the hotel a couple of hours later, Castro had accepted his fate. "Tanggap ko na sir. Sa susunod, hindi ko na titigilan," he vowed. Another lesson learned for the 18-year-old boxer.