Boxing’s Nesthy Petecio (silver), Carlo Paalam (silver) and Eumir Marcial (bronze). AFP FILE PHOTOS
TAGAYTAY—Tokyo Olympics silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam and bronze medal winner Eumir Marcial have realized their dreams, but remain hungry for more.
On the day they received brand-new homes from patrons Senator Francis Tolentino and Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, the trio vowed to work even harder to achieve their Olympic gold dreams, with Paalam even looking as far as suiting up for Team Philippines until Los Angeles 2028.
“I’m definitely going back. As I’ve said before, I’m not going to stop until I win the gold,” said Petecio in Filipino, who will resume training next week, four months after her Japan Games feat.Paalam, the men’s flyweight silver performer in Japan, is hoping for at least two more trips in the Olympics in Paris and eventually in LA.
“I hope to still do it and win more medals,” said the 21-year-old Paalam as he settled on the couch of his new house that sits adjacent to Petecio and Marcial’s at Olympic Lane of Barangay San Jose in this famed and breezy tourist destination south of Manila.
Paalam, who took a break from training in Baguio City to attend the house blessing, looks forward to entering the ring again in the coming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam and Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Marcial’s middleweight bronze medal in the Olympics likewise proved to be a blessing, his dreams of owning a boxing gym for himself now unfolding.
“It’s a dream to have my own boxing gym, so I grabbed the chance now that I have the opportunity to build one,” said Marcial. The first Filipino professional boxer in the Olympics is personally overseeing the construction of his gym at the back of his 120-square-meter Tagaytay home.
Even with no designated opponent yet, Marcial still trains daily, expecting to book a fight in the United States in March.
“I will definitely make way for the SEA Games, Asian Games and the Olympic qualifying for Paris despite my busy schedule in the pros,” said Marcial.
The Tolentino siblings personally rewarded the three boxers with new single-detached houses and lots out of their own pockets worth close to P10 million each. “We are actually planning to build an Olympic community where our future Olympic medalists can have a house of their own and stay here in Tagaytay for good,” said Bambol Tolentino.
They earlier gifted Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz of weightlifting with a 200-sqm house and lot also in the city. INQ