The Philippines snared two gold medals in the 21st President’s Cup boxing tournament as Josei Gabuco and Nesthy Petecio hammered out smashing final victories at the Gelora Bung Karno Senayan Indoor Tennis Stadium in Jakarta Friday.
Gabuco rallied to beat China’s Gui Jing Shan, 14-11 to pocket the women’s 46kg gold while Petecio had little trouble in forging a 19-12 triumph over Vietnamese Le Thi Bang in the championship of the women’s 51kg class.
Ian Clark Bautista, the 16-year-old sensation making waves in the tournament, also smashed his way to the finals with a masterful 12-5 victory over India’s promising 18-year-old Gaurav Bidhuri.
Decorated skipper Charly Suarez, on the other hand, put on a spectacular performance to overwhelm tough Yelldos Saldalin of Kazakhstan, 15-6, despite fighting for the third straight day.
Bautista battles Vietnamese hotshot Nguyen Van Hai for the light flyweight title while Suarez clashes with China’s Cen Yu in the lightweight finals.
Gabuco and Petecio had an impressive run to the gold, giving the Philippine team led by Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines executive director Ed Picson a lot of reason to smile.
Gabuco, who routed Nguyen Thi Yen of Vietnam 21-5 to reach the semifinals, totally outclassed Indonesia’s Selly Wanimbo, 21-11, there to reach the championship.
Selly is among several Indonesian fighters in the national team who are being groomed for the forthcoming Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta. Gabuco takes on
Petecio also totally ripped hometown girl Veronica Nicolas, 23-7, to reach the finals of her category.
It wasn’t a flawless day for the Philippine delegation, however, as Analisa Cruz suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Japanese veteran Aya Shinmoto, 21-10.
After an even opening round 2-2, the Japanese took a 7-4 lead after two rounds and desperately tried to battle back by engaging her foe in torrid exchanges but failed to draw the nod of the judges.
Before that, 18-year-old Nathaniel Montealto lost to Russian foe Alexander Malinin, 8-5.
Still, Picson is upbeat about the PH stint in the tournament.
“Remember, we brought mostly young members of the pool here,” Picson told the Inquirer via e-mail. “While the veterans are carrying the day, the showing of our first timers, especially Yan-yan Bautista is heartwarming.”
“This is a testament to the directions set by ABAP chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and our president Ricky Vargas,” Picson added. “We strive for excellence but it entails hard work and leaving nothing to chance. That’s why we have some of the most experienced coaches, our own strength and conditioning consultant, nutritionist and sports psychologist.”