Abap still on a ‘learning curve’

BUSINESS tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan has not exactly showered local amateur boxers with an embarrassment of riches.

But it’s safe to say that MVP and his group of companies have spent a pretty penny since he chose to throw all-out support to boxing’s national sports association and its mix of not too old and not too young fighters.

Thus, on the eve of its elections Friday, the NSA now known as the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines came out of the gate with a long list of feats etched on its belt.

Four years ago, Ricky Vargas, Pangilinan’s trusted business associate took over as head of Abap, formerly the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines. With Ricky as president and MVP as chair, funds were said to flow like quicksilver into the Abap’s kitty, mostly for training and foreign exposure.

If my count is accurate, Abap, rechristened under instruction from the Aiba, boxing’s world governing body, harvested 107 medals (52 golds, 23 silvers and 32 bronzes) in 32 international competitions from 2009 to the present.

The pickings were either slim or sizeable, including  a nine-medal haul (out of 10 boxers) in the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos and a disheartening one-gold, one-silver and one-bronze outcome in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

The Abap under Vargas and Pangilinan will be difficult to beat in terms of international appearances and medals. But even with its fruitful years, the NSA and its failure to qualify more than one boxer and win any kind of medal in the London Olympic Games remain a bankable issue to critics.

“We had no illusions when we took over,” Abap executive director Ed Picson told me. “We knew there was a learning curve and we had to go through the normal pains…”

“Producing an Olympic gold medalist is no mean feat,” Picson said. “Three years were too short … we were never deluded into thinking we could fast track it … but it would have been more tragic if we didn’t even try.”

Picson sees the lonely London Games campaign of flyweight Mark Anthony Barriga as a positive. “The only boxer to qualify was discovered under our watch,” he said. “The veterans were not so fortunate, but not for want of trying or talent. That’s just the way it is in boxing.

It’s tough casting the silver bullet for Olympic glory, explains Ed.

Training, abundant exposure, equipment, nutrition, etc., that’s the recipe for success, he says. The Abap has responded with a foreign coaching consultant, strength and conditioning mentor, nutritionist and sports psychologist to create the perfect mix.

Abap also says its grassroots development is “vibrant,” with annual tournaments in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao culminating in the national championships, “our hunting ground for fresh recruits to the national pool,” reports Ed.

And the Abap has brought the mountain to Muhammad. Each year it goes to different parts of the country to hold tournaments. “The object is to bring Abap to the countryside rather than wait for talents to come to us,” Picson said.

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(Aurelio “Oyie ” Umali got reelected Nueva Ecija governor. Jong Corpus is mayor once more via the Iglesia ni Cristo vote in Cuyapo, my hometown. The dynamic duo has left the Nampicuan to Cuyapo road,  among the worst in the country. It’s about time they make repairs on the road foremost in their public works agenda.)