Navy’s Lerio barges into final

LA LISA, Cuba — Danilo Lerio of Team Caltex Philippines reached the finals of the lightflyweight division Sunday evening while elder brother Arlan failed and settled for the bronze in the bantamweight class in the seventh Roberto Balado Cup boxing tournament at the La Vereda Plaza here.

Danilo defeated Cuba’s Barbaro Gonzales for a convincing 4-1 victory and earn a shot at the gold while Arlan was outwitted – but never outfought – by local boy Lester Diaz, 1-4, at the start of the semifinal round of the event which ends Tuesday.

Danilo, a Navyman, was in full control right from the start and never got into trouble in earning a chance to surpass his bronze-medal finish in the same event last year.

He takes a rest Monday and will shoot for the gold Tuesday.

In contrast, Arlan, an armyman, had a difficult time chasing Diaz around the ring after the Cuban opted to dance the time away in the last two rounds. Arlan had scoring punches in the last two rounds but still fell short in the judges eyes.

"Sayang ang laro ni Arlan. Hindi na sumuntok ang Cubano sa last two rounds pero naibigay pa din sa kanya ang panalo, tumama lang ng mangilan-ngilan sa una at tumakbo na," said Gregorio Caliwan, head coach of Team Caltex also supported by the Philippines Sports Commission, Pacific Heights and Adidas.

Two more Filipino boxers — flyweight Violito Payla and lightwelter Romeo Brin — see action Monday, each one hoping to join Danilo in the final and possibly give Team Caltex its best finish in the tournament honoring a Cuban Olympic superheavyweight champion (1992) who died in a car crash in 1994.

Payla reached the semis with a 5-0 victory over Ecuador’s Modesto Ramirez Saturday while Brin drew a bye in the first round of the division which only had six entries. Team Caltex won a silver, courtesy of Larry Semillano, and two bronzes, courtesy of Danilo and Brin, here last year.

"Ang kailangan ay makapasok pa sa finals sina Payla at Brin para dumami pa ang chances natin para sa gold. Pero sa ngayon pa lang, masaya na kaming mga coaches sa performance nila," said assistant coach Nolito Velasco. Also with the coaching staff is Alex Arroyo with referee/judge Darcito Teodoro.