Private funding key to Olympic quest

Private sponsorship, not just government support, will be vital in the Philippines’ ambitious gold medal bid in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Boxing chief Manny Lopez said they would need all the help they could get in their quest for elusive Olympic gold.

"We can’t rely on the government alone," said Lopez yesterday. "We will need the help of everyone, including the private sector, for us to win our first Olympic gold medal."

That’s why the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines is knocking on the corporate doors like those of telecommunication giant Globe Telecoms and food and beverage company San Miguel Corp.

Robert Aventajado, who heads the local taekwondo group and chairs the Philippine Olympic Committee, agrees.

"Sponsorships, both private and government, would be the key if we want to achieve that goal," said Aventajado.

Boxing received P3 million from the Philippine Sports Commission last year to fund its 2006 Doha Asian Games drive that netted a pair of gold medals through Joan Tipon and Violito Payla and another pair of bronze courtesy of Genebert Basadre and Godfrey Castro.

The RP boxing team would need more than that to bankroll its Olympic drive.

Lopez said they plan to train their athletes locally and internationally.

Another plan is to tap a Cuban coach like what they did the ‘90s when Raul Liranza coached Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco to a silver medal finish in the 1996 Atlanta Games.

With Liranza now busy with the Cuban team, Lopez said they are looking at Cuban Olympic gold medalist Julian Gonzales.