Sporting Chance - By Joaquin M. Henson

Not worst ever

Here’s a consolation. The Philippine Olympic boxing team’s performance in Sydney wasn’t its worst ever.

For the record, the Philippines has sent 65 boxers to fight in 15 Olympics since the 1932 Los Angeles Games. The roster includes seven repeaters – Jose Padilla, Jr. (1932, 1936), Ernesto Porto (1948, 1952), Dominador Calumarde (1964, 1968), Rodolfo Arpon (1964, 1968), Leopoldo Cantancio (1984, 1988), Roberto Jalnaiz (1988, 1992), and Romeo Brin (1996, 2000).

None of the two-timers ever bagged a medal although three made it to the quarterfinals. Padilla, a lightweight, became an actor and a pro referee after hanging up his gloves. He finished among the top eight at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Arpon whipped Borge Krogh of Denmark and James Dunne of England via identical 4-1 decisions before bowing to American Ronald Harris on a 5-0 shutout in the quarters at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Cantancio reached the quarters at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. A lightweight like Padilla and Arpon, Cantancio saw action in a tough division dominated by Pernell Whitaker. He disposed of Solomon Kondowe of Malawai in the first round then trounced Kamran Dar of Pakistan and Christopher Ossai of Nigeria before losing to Chun Chil Sung of Korea in the quarters.

Only two Filipinos qualified for the finals – Anthony Villanueva in 1964 and Mansueto (Onyok) Velasco in 1996. Both settled for silvers. The Filipino bronze medalists were Jose (Cely) Villanueva (1932), Leopoldo Serrantes (1988), and Roel Velasco (1992). So, boxing has produced five of the Philippines’ nine Olympic medals in history and delivered the last four.

There were four Olympics where Filipino fighters were blanked, meaning they didn’t win a single bout. In 1948, five Filipinos lost in their first outings – flyweight Ricardo Adolfo, bantamweight Bonifacio Zarcal, featherweight Leon Trani, lightweight Porto, and welterweight Mariano Velez, Jr. In 1956, a similar wipeout cursed the boxing team made up of flyweight Federico Bonus, bantamweight Alberto Adela, featherweight Paulino Melendres, lightweight Celedonio Espinosa, and lightwelterweight Manuel de los Santos.

In 1960, only flyweight Segundo Macalalad fought for the Philippines and was ousted in his first assignment by the Argentinian Botta on a 4-1 decision.

The last shutout came in 1972 when lightflyweight Vicente Arsenal, flyweight Renato Fortaleza, bantamweight Ricardo Fortaleza, and lightmiddleweight Aquilino Nicolas, Jr. laid a big, fat egg.

In Sydney, only Arlan Lerio picked up a win – the others, Larry Semillano, Danilo Lerio, and Brin, lost in their first fights. In 1952, flyweight Al Asuncion was the lone Filipino to win a fight as his four teammates – bantamweight Alejandro Ortuoste, lightweight Benjamin Enriquez, lightwelterweight Porto, and welterweight Vicente Tunacao – failed to advance beyond the initial eliminations. In 1968, featherweight Teogenes Pelegrino scored the only win for the Philippines as his teammates – flyweight Rodolfo Diaz, lightflyweight Manolo Vicera, bantamweight Calumarde, and lightweight Arpon – all exited after their first outings.

The best showing was in 1964 and 1992 when the Filipino fighters posted identical records of 9-6. In Tokyo, five simonpures won their first fights – the only exception was lightmiddleweight Felix Ocampo. Anthony Villanueva raced to four victories before losing to Stanislav Stepashkin of Russia in the finals. Others who scored at least a win were Arnulfo Torrevillas, Calumarde, Arpon, Manfredo and Alipala. In Barcelona, five fighters also won their first assignments as only flyweight Charlie Balena didn’t survive his initial outing. Picking up at least a win were Roel Velasco (who pocketed a bronze after losing in the semifinals), Isidro Vicera, Jalnaiz, and Ronald and Arlo Chavez.

The 1936 and 1996 teams turned in identical 6-4 records. Felipe Nunag, Oscar de Larrazabal, Padilla, and Simplicio de Castro scored wins in 1936 while Onyok Velasco and Elias Recaido had victories in 1996.

Among the quarterfinalists who didn’t make it to the semis were de Castro (1936), Reynaldo Fortaleza (1976) and Recaido (1996).

Fortaleza reached the quarters without raising a sweat. He drew a bye in the first eliminations then advanced by default in the next two rounds after the withdrawal of Arab and African countries. In the quarters, he lost a 4-1 decision to Pat Cowdell of England.

Brothers who fought in the Olympics were Jose, Jr. (1932, 1936) and Carlos Padilla (1932), the Fortalezas – Renato (1972), Ricardo (1972), and Reynaldo (1976), Roel (1992) and Onyok (1996) Velasco, Ronald and Arlo Chavez (both 1992), and the Lerios (2000).

In all, the Filipino boxers’ Olympic record is 44 wins and 65 losses. That translates into a 40.3 percent clip, meaning the batting average is less than a 50-50 chance.