The P300,000 reward that Eumir Marcial received for capturing the gold medal in the lightbantamweight division at the recent AIBA World Junior Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, will go a long way in helping his parents fix their relocated home after eviction as informal settlers in Zamboanga City.
Marcial, 15, created a stir in the second edition of the biennial tournament by becoming the only Southeast Asian to hit paydirt in the 13-division competitions that drew 273 fighters from 48 countries. Host Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were the only other Asian nations to strike gold. AIBA used to call it the Cadet Championships. The age range is 15-16.
The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) sent only two fighters to Astana with coach Romeo Brin, a three-time Olympian. Pinweight Rence Bryan Magarce was the other Filipino bet. Eight countries showed up with a full complement of 13 fighters, including Australia, Ireland, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Magarce drew byes in the first two rounds then battled Russia’s Denis Chmykhin in the quarterfinals. Alas, Magarce lost a 10-9 heartbreaker.
The new AIBA scoring system was in effect. According to AIBA, “the new system removes the one-second window within which at least three of the five judges previously had to register a scoring blow for it to count.” Now, the AIBA continued, individual scores of each judge are recorded and the average of the three closest scores is taken as a fighter’s score at the end of each round.
Unlike in the former system, running scores are no longer accessible during a round because computations are made only after each two-minute stanza. AIBA president Dr. Ching Kuo Wu of Taiwan initiated the change “to ensure an honest, transparent and open scoring system in boxing wherein the boxers are given full credit to the punches that they score and at the same time, return to the artful and dexterous boxing techniques of yesteryears.” The system took effect last March on a selective basis but will be mandatory in every AIBA-sanctioned event starting January next year.
The system will eliminate the highest and lowest scores of the judges, taking into account only the remaining three scores. The average of the three scores will constitute the points for a boxer in a round. The scores will be displayed in between rounds.
Marcial had a bye in the first phase of competitions in the 52-kilogram category then went to work in the second level of eliminations, eking out an 11-9 decision over Armenia’s Henrik Hovannisyan. Next, he bundled out Azerbaijan’s Nasruddin Mammadov, 14-9. Marcial went on to halt Belarus’ Eduard Vaha at 1:22 of the first round in the semifinals and outpointed Turkey’s Cengiz Onat, 9-7, for the gold medal. The win over Mammadov assured Marcial of a bronze and the victory over Vaha guaranteed a silver. But Marcial wouldn’t be denied the top prize.
Marcial’s parents Eulalio and Carmelita recently lost their home when they were relocated by the local government in a resettlement 10 kilometers away from the city boundary. Five children and their families moved in with the Marcials in the small shanty. By the way, the fighter is the youngest of six.
ABAP president Ricky Vargas said Marcial turned over his P300,000 bonus to his parents who will likely use the money to tile the dirt flooring of their makeshift home. Marcial’s parents were brought to Manila from Zamboanga by PLDT, booked in a hotel and attended the meeting with PLDT and ABAP chairman Manny Pangilinan who handed the check. Vargas said it was only the parents’ second time to visit Luzon, the first was when they went to Tarlac for a boxing tournament where their son competed. “It was Eumir’s first travel abroad,” said ABAP secretary-general Patrick Gregorio. “It was also the first time for the Philippines to win a medal in the world championships and it was a gold. We’re celebrating the triumph of a young man with big dreams for his country. In his first international competition, Eumir became a world champion – an amazing story of a national titleholder from a poor family in Zamboanga. The ABAP sent only two youth boxers to the tough tournament in Astana. This is indeed the triumph of the Pinoy spirit.”
Marcial is a third year high school student in Baguio City where he trains with the ABAP national pool. His education is paid for by PLDT.
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Although he has played only in the semifinals, Talk ‘N’ Text import Scottie Reynolds is a hot candidate for Best Import honors in the PBA Governors Cup. He’s averaging 24.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals in four games so far. Reynolds leads the league in three-point percentage at .487 and on the downside, in turnovers with 4.8 an outing. In his last two appearances, Reynolds knocked down a combined 15-of-25 triples – an eye-popping .600 mark.
Reynolds, 23, is Villanova University’s second leading all-time scorer with 2,214 points behind Kerry Kittles. Villanova has produced a slew of NBA players, including Chris Ford, Wali Jones, Howard Porter, Randy Foye, Harold Pressley, Stewart Granger, Dwayne McClain, Rory Sparrow and Ed Pinckney. Granger and McClain were former PBA imports. Reynolds averaged in double figures in each of his four years with the varsity, 14.8 in 2006-07 as a freshman, 15.9, 15.2 and 18.2 as a senior in 2009-10.
In his final year at Villanova, the Wildcats posted a 25-8 record and went to the second round of the NCAA tournament. As a junior, Reynolds hit the game-winning layup against Pittsburgh to lift Villanova to its first NCAA Final Four since 1985. Coach Jay Wright said, “Early in his career, we needed him to score for us ... but as a senior, he did so much more for us than that, he is a tough defender, he rebounds and he sets a tone for us with his commitment.”
Reynolds played briefly in the Italian league and saw action for the Springfield Armor in the NBA D-League before signing up as Maurice Baker’s replacement with Talk ‘N’ Text.