BANGKOK – The first day of the 31st King’s Cup went without a hitch for the Philippine contingent, represented by a mix of veterans and young hopefuls.
All six boxers easily hurdled the medical examination and the weigh-in held early Saturday morning at the First Hotel in the Pratunam district of downtown Bangkok.
The draw, held after the weigh-in, had 17-year old Gerson Nietes seeing action in the first bout of the tournament at the Ngamwongwan Mall in Bangkok. He will face Syria’s Wardie Halder in the light-flyweight category.
Also seeing action on the first day is featherweight (57 kg.) Charly Suarez, who drew Chantasone Xayyalak of Laos.
On Sunday, scheduled to fight are Aston Francis Palicte against Gnaognam Chatree of Thailand’s Team B. As host country, the Thais have the privilege of having two teams in the competition.
Veteran Genebert Basadre will also be featured on the second day against another member of Thailand Team B – Namuang Maethee.
Joegin Ladon and Joan Tipon will see action on the third day.
ABAP executive director Ed Picson, who heads the Philippine delegation, expressed satisfaction with the preparation and mindset of the boxers.
“They are in high spirits and expressed their determination to make the Philippines proud,” he said.
“The boys were also pleasantly surprised and inspired after the incentives pledged by ABAP chair Manny V. Pangilinan and president Ricky Vargas of P30,000 for a gold medal, P20,000 for silver and 10,000 for bronze were announced.”
National coaches Ronald Chavez and Elmer Pamisa were also upbeat about the chances of the Filipino boxers especially because powerhouse teams Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, who initially indicated their participation, withdrew at the last minute.
The coaches, after looking over the participants from other countries observed that “the favored teams now are host Thailand and Russia. If we can do well against them, there’s no telling if we can get a chance at the team championship or at least get our fair share of the medals.”