Fil-Am pug seeks Olympic slot
By Dennis U. Eroa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:44:00 01/24/2008
Filed Under: Boxing
MANILA, Philippines -- Is he for real?
The answer will be known when Filipino-American boxer Adam Bigornia Fiel gets a taste of world-class opposition as part of a crack five-man national team to the First AIBA Asian Olympic boxing qualifying tournament starting Friday up to Feb. 2 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Only 18, Fiel, a prized find from Palo Alto, California, is competing in his first major tournament outside the United States.
“There’s no turning back now; I want to bring honor to the Philippines,” said the 5-foot-7 Fiel, whose parents hail from Cebu and Manila.
A light welterweight, Fiel along with flyweight Violito Payla, bantamweight Joan Tipon, lightweight Genebert Basadre and featherweight Orlando Tacuyan Jr. left Wednesday with the RP team via Philippine Airlines for Bangkok.
The team is headed by Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Manny T. Lopez.
Coaches are Pat Gaspi and ex-Olympian Ronald Chavez. Fiel and Tacuyan are newcomers while Payla and Basadre fell a win short of snatching Beijing Olympic berths during the World Championships in Chicago, Illinois last November.
Tipon, who with Payla won gold medals in the 2006 Doha Asian Games, lost in the first round in the Worlds against longtime rival Worapoj Petchkoom of Thailand.
He is expected to cross paths again with the Thai bet, who also failed to advance in Chicago.
Fiel gained the nod of the coaching staff after training with members of the national pool for two months at Teachers Camp in Baguio City and at the ABAP Gym inside the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
“Adam is capable of springing a surprise in Bangkok,” said Lopez.
Fiel ousted longtime national team member Delfin Boholst, who was a flop during the Worlds.
Known for his big fighting heart, Fiel’s drawback is his tentative punching style.
“We’ve already worked double overtime to correct that flaw,” said Gaspi. “We’ve instilled in his mind the need to throw more punches.”
To reach the Olympics, the RP boxers need at least three wins to advance to the finals of their respective events.
The lone boxing qualifier so far is light flyweight Harry Tañamor, who won a silver medal in Chicago.
“Our target is one or two slots,” said Lopez.
Lopez said the country will also send a team to the second and final Asian Olympic qualifying in March in Astana, Kazakhstan.
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