DIGOS CITY, Philippines - Home team Pacman-Digos City won the overall championship at the close of the PLDT-ABAP National Amateur Boxing Championships held at the city stadium here.
Of the 17 fighters fielded by two home squads supported by boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, six won the gold medal, three took the silver, and eight the bronze. Cagayan de Oro fighters finished second overall after winning four gold, one silver and four bronzes, Cebu City was third with three gold and two bronzes, Bago City had two gold, one silver and one bronze, and General Santos City came home with two gold and two bronze medals.
Team Pacman gold medalists included Gaidyl Reducto (School Girls paperweight/44kgs; Jericho Sahohito (Jr. Boys light flyweight/46kgs; Ranjo Gil Napoles (Jr.Boys lightweight/60kgs); Jean Minguillan (Jr. Girls pinweight/46kgs); Ryan Moreno (Youth Boys pinweight/46kgs); and John Paul Bentoso (Youth Boys light flyweight/49kgs).
Reducto defeated Jolina Lamberte of Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat; Sahohito outlasted John Paul Ramos of Tayabas City, Quezon; Napoles outsmarted the greenhorn son of national coach Ronald Chavez Jr. of Makati City; Minguillan dominated Elaide Pamisa of Cagayan de Oro City; Moreno outwitted the hard punching Jaybee Canedo of Camiguin; and Bentoso frustrated Robert Paradeo of Aglayan, Malaybalay, Bukidnon.
Among the 18 gold medal winners, Junrel Jimenez of Cebu City showed singular promise when he scored the lone TKO win in the finals over Ryan Torres of San Fernando City, La Union in the Youth Boys flyweight division (52kgs).
After a tentative start that showed four warnings for not throwing punches, Jimenez broke his silence and put Torres on his seat following a hook-straight combination. After the eight mandatory counts, the Cebuano puncher went to the body that forced the referee to stop the carnage and declare Jimenez winner by TKO at the 1:55 mark of the second round.
Cebu City had two other gold medalists – Kit Ceron Garces, who defeated Gerald Alvarez of Pacman Team in the Jr. Boys light flyweight (50kgs) category, and Jorge Edusma, who dominated Gilbert Rey Jerusalem of Camiguin for the Youth Bantamweight (56kgs) crown.
CDO gold medalists were Carlos Paalam (Jr. Boys pinweight), Angelica Dadole (Jr. Girls light flyweight), Shera Mae Jacinto (Jr. Girls flyweight) and Sugar Ray Ocana (Youth Boys lightweight (60kgs). Julie Casiño could have won one more gold medal for CDO but his victory in the light bantamweight division was declared non-bearing because of the lack of entry in the same competition.
The other gold medal winners included Rennie Boy Ferraren (school boys paperweight), Criztian Pitt Laurente of General Santos City (school boys light pinweight), Mario Bautista of Tayabas City of Quezon in the Jr. light bantamweight (52kgs), Mario Jaga of Bago City in the Jr. Boys bantameight class and Grace Paulo Ganton of General Santos City (Youth Girls flyweight ). — (FREEMAN)