INQUIRER Sports

THE CUBANS ARE STAYING.

The Philippine Sports Commission, which funds the Cuban coaches’ training of the national boxing team, yesterday said that the two Cuban coaches should be the last people to be blamed for the disappointing Olympic stint by lone boxer Harry Tañamor.

“You can blame every person around him (Tañamor) but you should not blame the Cubans,” said PSC chair Butch Ramirez in a phone interview from Beijing. “It’s because they arrived late into the (RP) preparations.”

Juan Enrique Steyners Tissert and Dagoberto Rojas Scott came only late in February when the country was making a last-ditch effort to send more fighters in the last Asian qualifying in Kazakhstan.

He said it was the national coaching squad which had a hand in the preparation for the qualifying events in Chicago late in 2007 and Thailand in January.

Ramirez defended the Cubans in the wake of calls for a change in the leadership in the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines.

Abap president Manny Lopez has refused to talk during several teleconferences with Manila-based media, fueling speculations that boxing officials from Cebu and North Cotabato will be contesting his presidency later in the year.

Even WBC lightweight champ Manny Pacquiao has reportedly expressed interest in running the Abap affairs.

The Cubans’ stint here was sealed when Philippine sports officials led by Ramirez flew to Havana to meet with their counterparts.

The country earlier failed to get the services of Raul Fernandez Liranza, who trained he RP boxers that competed in every Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta.

Ramirez said the Cubans will be tapped to train young boxers who will be culled from the provinces, particularly those shining in the national amateur boxing championships slated in Bacolod in December.

“We want the top 20 young boxers in the country. If they get the proper training from these Cuban coaches, imagine how good they will be in the coming Olympics,” added Ramirez.

Steyners-Tissert and Rojas-Scott hardly warmed up their seats in Manila and quickly joined Tañamor in the Baguio training camp soon after they arrived Feb. 22.

They are both reportedly getting $3,000 a month from the government.

Steyners-Tissert served as Cuban national team coach from 1994 to 2002 and is a product of the Provincial Boxing Academy before serving as coach for Spain from 1992 to 1994.

Scott served as coach for the High Performance National Center of Cuba and was credited for Cuba’s successful stints in two World championships.