Pinoy pugs tired but in high spirits

Warsaw, Poland — Despite the long haul from Manila, Filipino boxers were in high spirits when they arrived Tuesday in this Polish capital.

Weary and exhausted after a 23-hour travel fromManila (via Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam), including a three-hour ordeal at the military-manned Warsaw Airport’s Immigration office, Team Caltex Philippines arrived here as darkness set in at 4 p.m., prompting officials to abandon their plan for a light workout and ordering their chargers to retire for the day.

But the Filipino fighters did see the kind of opposition they would be facing in the Feliks Stamm international boxing championships, a bunch of tall and well-built rivals whom they bumped into at the Hotel Felix here.

The four-day event, which starts Wednesday night, drew a total of 19 nations, mostly from Europe, although the Poles and the Russians, including those from the Ukraine and Belarus loom as the fancied teams in this world- ranking tournament held in honor of Poland’s acknowledged father of boxing, Feliks Stamm.

Pairings have yet to be drawn although any from lightflyweight Harry Tanamor, flyweight Violito Payla, bantamweight Vincent Palicte, featherweight Roel Laguna, lightweight Florencio Ferrer and lightwelterweight Romeo Brin is expected to see action when hostilities start at 5 p.m.

" Despite the hassles, the boys are in high spirits. But we can tell how competitive we would be after the draw, " said coach George Caliwan.

The other team mentor is Pat Gaspi while lawyer Liberato Reyna is the manager and team leader of the Nationals. The referee-judge is Joel Pasculado.

Bankrolled by Caltex and backed by Pacific Heights, the RP pugs hope to come up with a creditable performance in the event which serves as part of their buildup for next year’s Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea.