Bautista, Suarez settle for silvers
JAKARTA—The PLDT-ABAP team settled for two silver medals after two early golds in the 21st President’s Cup which ended Saturday at the Gelora Bung Karno Senayan Indoor Tennis Stadium.
Ian Clark Bautista, the 16-year-old who drew raves from the crowd here for his giant-slaying prowess, finally met his match in Naoya Inouye of Japan, who carved out a 27-10 win in the 49-kg category.
Charly Suarez went on a punching spree in the third and final round but still lost to Cen Yu of China, 19-17, in the 60-kg division.
The Filipinos earlier picked up two golds in the opening half of the title bouts through women’s division through Josie Gabuco (48 kg) and Nesthy Petecio (51 kg).
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines executive director Ed Picson commended his wards, who also nailed two bronze medals courtesy of Analisa Cruz (51 kg) and Nathaniel Montealto (64 kg).
“Two medals of each kind is nothing to sneeze at,” he said. “But we feel we should have fared better if only we were able to analyze the scoring patterns of the judges here.”
The nine-member PLDT-ABAP team, backed by Smart-PLDT chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and president Ricky Vargas of Maynilad, competed against nearly 200 boxers from 28 countries.
Coaches were Ronald Chavez and Sonny Dollente while the women’s team manager was Karina Picson.
