Pinaghalong Beterano, bagito isasabak ng ABAP sa 25th SEAG

MANILA, Philippines - Mga beterano at mga bagito.

Ito ang klase ng mga boksingerong ipapadala ng Amateur Boxing Asso­cia­tion of the Philippines (ABAP) para sa darating na 25th Southeast Asian Games sa Laos sa Dis­yembre.

“I believe in the prin­ciple that not all that is old is bad and not all that is new is good,” wika kaha­pon ni ABAP president Ricky Vargas sa linggu­hang SCOOP sa Kama­yan sa Padre Faura, Er­mita. “We have to get the best of the old and mix them with the best in the new. That will be our re­pre­sentation in the coming SEA Games.”

Matatandaang isang gold medal lamang ang naiuwi ng national boxing team noong 2007 SEA Ga­mes sa Nakhon Rat­cha­sima, Thailand kung sa­an inilagay sa protesta ni dating ABAP chief Man­ny T. Lopez ang lahat ng finals matchup ng mga Pi­noy sa men’s at women’s division dahilan sa ina­a­sa­hang muling pamu­mu­nuan ni three-time SEA Games gold medalist Har­ry Tañamor ang mga bete­ranong boksingero, ha­bang si Orlando Tacuyan, Jr. naman ang mangu­ngu­na sa mga bagito.

“Sports is not an event. Sports is a program. Mea­ning we will be embarking on a program that will pro­duce the best to represent the country in international competitions,” wika ni Var­gas, kinatawan ng Talk ‘N Text sa PBA Board.

Hiniling rin ni Vargas sa Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) na hu­wag nang makialam sa pagpili ng mga National Sports Associations (NSA)s ng mga atletang isasabak sa 2009 Laos SEA Games.

“Boxing is not a mea­su­rable sport where cloc­king, for example could be used as basis to gauge whe­ther an athlete is in the vicinity of a gold and a silver medal perfor­man­ce,” ani Vargas. 

Bukod sa 2009 SEA Ga­mes at sa 2010 Asian Ga­mes, ang pinakaasam na kauna-unahang gold medal sa Olympic Games ang pinaghahandaan ng ABAP sa 2012 sa London.

“Like Talk ‘N Text’s quest for a first PBA cham­pionship in six years, our quest for our first Olympic gold medal will be a long journey that will have its ups and downs which we hope will bear fruits in the long run,”ani Vargas.