National fighters reach semifinals

BACOLOD - National team mainstays posted emphatic victories Wednesday night to march into the semifinals even as a Zamboanga City pug was disqualified for being overage in the 2009 Smart Amateur Boxing Championships at the NOMPAC here.

Light flyweight Albert Pabila of Navy, flyweight Rey Saludar of Army, bantamweight Godfrey Castro of Army and featherweight Joan Tipon all hurdled their quarterfinal foes to assure themselves of at least a bronze medal and a crack at the gold.

Pabila stopped Iligan City’s Raul Posta Jr. two minutes and 30 seconds into the first round; Saludar trounced Marvin Fernandez; Castro bested Navy’s Robin Lobrido and Tipon thumped University of Baguio’s Glecerio Catolico III to surge into the semifinals in the event used by ABAP to discover new talents.

Meanwhile, organizers disqualified Zamboanga City’s Conrado Tañamor, younger brother of 2008 World Cup gold medalist Harry, for being overage by a year.

Zamboanga City officials appealed the decision saying they only received the first letter from ABAP in November last year allowing participants born in 1990 to participate in the slugfest.

Tournament director Roger Fortaleza, however, stressed that they sent the second letter a month later adjusting the cutoff period to those born in 1991, banning Tañamor from seeing action.

“We didn’t get the second letter. If we knew, we wouldn’t have allowed our boxer to compete,” said a Zamboanga team official requesting anonymity.

Fortaleza, however, said there was no cheating involved but only a simple case of miscommunication.

“There was no cheating, it was just about forfeiture based on a technicality. It was a simple case of miscommunication,” said Fortaleza, overseeing the weeklong tournament that drew participation from nearly 600 pugs – a record in the annual meet.

RP team member Annalisa Cruz of Army halted Tayabas, Quezon’s Lea Ramon 27 seconds in the second round to boost her bid in the elite bantamweight class.

Iloilo’s Fennet Degala defeated Himamaylan City’s Florence Pardillo while Bacolod A’s Karina Jane Recaido won over Bacolod B’s Jenne Mae Basco to boost their stocks in the junior pinweight category.

Pabila, the current RP No. 2 who is after 2008 World Cup gold medalist Harry Tanamor’s current post, will take on Mandaluyong’s Jimmy Adducal, who downed Dagupan City’s Kenneth Zamodio 50 seconds into the third round.

Saludar squares off with Bago City’s Melchor Palacios, a winner over Bago City’s Reyman Cordova; Castro faces Aroroy, Masbate’s Reggie Banaag, who triumphed over Bago City’s Nelson Gonzaga; and Tipon tangles with Nueva Vizcaya’s Joel Orden, who surged ahead via a walkover.