ABAP gym ready for Manny

BAGUIO — It’s all systems go for Manny Pacquiao to train at the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) gym in the sprawling 23-hectare Teachers Camp here on June 1-16.

ABAP coach Pat Gaspi said the other day the Philippine team is prepared to adjust its workout schedule and make way for Pacquiao to use the facilities exclusively from 1 to 4 p.m. during his stay.

The 260-square meter gym sits on top of a hill overlooking a track oval in the middle of the camp that was established in 1908 as a training and recreational center for teachers. Above the gym are dormitory quarters for the Philippine national boxing team.

The quarters consist of four huge bedrooms with double-bunk sleepers to accommodate at least 20 in a room. At the moment, there are 20 fighters–all men–quartered in the dormitory. There are separate quarters in other buildings for six women fighters and eight coaches, namely Gaspi, Boy Velasco, Ronald Chavez, Alex Arroyo, Leopoldo Cantancio, Elmer Pamisa and Vicente Arsenal.

The ABAP team moved into Teachers Camp in 1993 but the gym was refurbished only five years ago. The equipment includes a regulation ring, 10 heavy bags, 11 padded walls, a speedball, four swinging balls and a foamed flooring. A second ring, donated by the FTB sports gear company of Thailand, is waiting to be installed and its knocked-down parts are packed in boxes in the gym.

Gaspi said ABAP president Manny Lopez is considering to put up the FBT ring beside the existing ring but is holding off on the implementation because it will cramp the space in the gym.

For weight training, Gaspi said barbells and other lifting equipment are available in a separate building. He noted that the ABAP has a running bag in its Manila gym and it could be brought to Teachers Camp to augment the training facilities. Opposite the ring on the far end of the gym is a large-screen TV set for the fighters to watch training film.

Gaspi said the gym is used exclusively by the ABAP team and no pro has ever trained in the facility. Pacquiao will be the first exception and Gaspi said the squad is excited to welcome him.

Pacquiao’s consultant Jayke Joson visited the gym two weeks ago and said he will return with trainer Buboy Fernandez to list down whatever else is necessary to complete the fighter’s training equipment requirements.

Pacquiao will open training camp at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles in the second week of May then continue his workouts at Teachers Camp starting June 1. He will go back to Manila a week before his July 2 appointment with Oscar Larios at the Araneta Coliseum to taper off.

Gaspi said the ABAP team trains every day, starting at 6 a.m. for a one-hour run around the oval track, followed by gym work at 8 a.m. then a break from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. after which the fighters report back to the gym for another two-hour session. When Pacquiao checks in, the fighters will either reschedule their afternoon workouts until after he finishes or relocate to Manila.

Gaspi said he hopes to learn a few tricks of the trade from Pacquiao’s trainers Freddie Roach and Fernandez even if the pro style is different from the amateur. He met Roach and Fernandez in a coaching clinic organized by sportsman Rudy Salud at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium two years ago.

"Manny’s presence in the gym will be a big morale boost for the boys," said Gaspi in Filipino. "We can learn a lot from him, particularly in his will to win. He also uses a lot of amateur tactics, particularly in middle and long-distance fighting. Hindi naman puro dikdikan ang ginagawa ni Manny sa ring. At hindi siya maruming maglaro kanya marami kaming matututunan na pwede naming gamitin sa amateur style."

Gaspi, 44, was in the Philippine boxing pool from 1981 to 1990. He bagged a silver medal as a lightmiddleweight at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1989. A Sorsogon native, Gaspi previously captured two bronzes in the SEA Games. He joined the ABAP as a coach when the team moved to Teachers Camp in 1993.