Saludars topple foes for sure bronze

GUIYANG, China – Brothers Rey and Victorio Saludar disposed of their respective rivals in contrasting fashions to advance to semifinal round and assure Team Philippines of bronze medals in the China Open boxing tournament here yesterday.

Victorio, 20, outclassed Ganselem Ariunbold of Mongolia throughout, eluding his rival’s attacks with swift moves while scoring on head and body combinations to fashion out a 15-5 victory.

Rey, on the other hand, struggled past a stubborn Muhammad Wassem of Pakistan, hacking out a tough 15-12 win.

Victorio virtually settled the outcome right in the first round, 8-1, then padded it to 13-3 in the next frame.

The Mongolian tried to rally by trading punches with Victorio in the final round, but took a standing 8-count instead.

Rey came out a bit better than Wassem in their explosive first round slugfest, 7-6, then barely took a 12-10 lead after two rounds.

Rey continued to deliver the clearer shots in the third round and went on to pound out the victory.

The Saludar siblings and lone lady fighter Analisa Cruz go for finals berths against their Chinese rivals in today’s semifinal round.

Cruz faces the multi-titled Ren Can Can, Victorio takes on fancied Olympic gold medalist Zhou Shi Ming while Rey battles Chang Yong, whom he beat for the gold in last year’s Asian Games in Guangzhou. 

Chang made short work of his Myanmar opponent in the quarters, scoring an RSC (referee stopped contest) win in the second round.

ABAP executive director Ed Picson refused to make predictions but said “it’s obviously an uphill battle but the team is upbeat. We’ll give it a go.”