ABOARD a midnight flight from Manila to Incheon, Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap) president Ricky Vargas was quietly praying that the millions his association had set aside would go to the purpose for which they were intended.
The Abap, where Vargas is serving his second term, had dangled P3 million for every gold medal won, a million for a silver, and P500,000 for a bronze in the 17th Asian Games.
As Vargas was mulling on the color of the medals he would be presenting to his countrymen and his boss, Manny V. Pangilinan, four of the boxers were getting ready for the semifinal round last Thursday. The four—Charly Suarez, Mark Barriga, Willie Lopez and Mario Fernandez—were already assured of a bronze each.
There was a reason for the Abap head to be upbeat when he arrived in Incheon.
However, and very sadly, cookies have a way of crumbling no matter how hard you pray. Of the four bronze medalists, only Suarez advanced to the next round.
But that’s as far as he got. He did not win the gold that every Filipino had aspired for. I respected Vargas’ disappointment and did not bother him for an interview.
By Saturday morning, when I assumed the clouds have cleared a bit, I looked for him. Abap secretary general Pato Gregorio said he had taken the early flight back to Manila.
“Ricky was not angry nor frustrated. What he felt was panghihinayang. A gold will go a long way in alleviating the plight of the impoverished boxers,” said Gregorio.
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While the Asian Games was ongoing, PBA Grand Slam team San Mig Super Coffee was also engaged in a competition of its own in Seoul.
The Coffee Mixers had been invited to participate in a tuneup series with a commercial team from the Korean Basketball League which opens its new season this October, just like the PBA.
“We’ve played three games against the Koreans. We got blown out by 20, 30 and even as much as 40 points,” related the very disappointed team manager Alvin Patrimonio who was with his team at Hayseung Gymnasium to watch the last Gilas Pilipinas match against Mongolia.
The Mongolians led in the first quarter but we caught up with them in the second. Although Marcus Douthit obviously didn’t come out to play and got himself thrown out, we managed to overcome the opponent and win the game, finishing seventh overall.
San Mig Coffee governor Rene Pardo said the big losses by his team were to be expected because the Koreans had American imports.
While in Korea, Gregorio, also the PBA chair, and commissioner Chito Salud took time out to meet with KBL officials. They started doing some spade work to pave the way for their plans for the third conference, which is to hire Asian imports.
“The talks look very promising,” said Gregorio.