Road to Milan

MILAN – Four waves of Filipinos invaded this Italian city for the 15th AIBA World Boxing Championships that started last Sept. 1.

First to touch down was the group of five fighters and national coach Pat Gaspi who flew in directly from Havana where they were immersed in 2 1/2 weeks of training. The first batch landed on Friday, Aug. 28.

Lightflyweight Harry Tañamor, bantamweight Joan Tipon, featherweight Charly Suarez, lightweight Joegin Ladon and lightwelterweight Genebert Basadre were accompanied by Gaspi on the flight.

Four other fighters were at the Havana camp but returned to Manila after their training. They were pinweight Gerson Nietes Jr., flyweight Rey Saludar, flyweight Aston Palicte and lightwelterweight Jame Boy Vicera.

Curiously, the Philippines didn’t list an entry in the flyweight division at the World Championships despite two 51-kilogram fighters in the Cuban camp.

ABAP executive director Ed Picson explained that Palicte, 18, was too raw for the high-level competition here while Saludar, 21, was coming off a three-month layoff due to a military commitment in connection with his Army enlistment.

“Actually, Rey did very well in Cuba and during a practice play, knocked down his Cuban opponent twice,” said Picson. “But the coaching staff felt he wasn’t ready for the World Championships – not yet, at least.”

When the fighters left for Havana, Picson said the composition of the team for the World Championships was still up in the air. In fact, the Italian visas of the five fighters and Gaspi were facilitated by Philippine Ambassador to Cuba MacArthur Corsino and Vice Consul Jason Anasarias after the lineup was finalized.

Next came a group from Manila led by Picson. Others were assistant coach Ronald Chavez and journalists Recah Trinidad and Joe Antonio. They left for Milan via Amsterdam last Saturday, Aug. 29.

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While at the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, the four travellers and many other passengers missed their connection to Milan because of a late change in boarding gates.

When they realized the change in the boarding gates, it was too late to catch the flight. Picson made a impassioned appeal before the airline representatives at Schipol. Thanks to Picson’s persuasiveness, the stranded group was given four free flight tickets to go to Milan via Paris the next day. All flights from Amsterdam to Milan were booked solid that day. They were also given free overnight toiletry bags.

A Filipina, who also missed the connection, was assessed close to P20,000 for taking out her luggage so she could travel 12 hours to Milan by train instead of flying.

The problem was Picson and his companions had to spend the night in Amsterdam to catch the flight to Milan the next afternoon. They chose an airport hotel that charged about P7,000 for all four in a room – not a bad deal for Picson whose negotiating skills were put to a severe test.

The next morning, the group could’ve visited a sex museum where the charge was only P20 admission but decided to go to St. Nicholas Church instead to thank the Lord for finding a way to Milan despite the missed connection.

The layover in Paris was four hours and the group wearily checked in at the 960-room Ripamonti Hotel, about an hour’s bus ride away from downtown Milan, close to midnight last Sunday. They hung around the Malpensa airport for about three hours waiting for their luggage that never came because of the connection snag.

Last Tuesday morning, their luggage was delivered directly to the Ripamonti Hotel.

The night before, ABAP president Ricky Vargas flew in from Manila. He came alone and stayed four nights with the team here. For an executive with his lofty responsibilities, it was a long trip away from home. But Vargas was determined to show his all-out support to the fighters. His stay was a big morale boost for the team.

The fourth and last batch arrived last Tuesday night. It was made up of ABAP secretary-general Patrick Gregorio and this writer. We took the KLM flight from Manila and as usual, it was an excellent ride. KLM’s Mona Narcelles and Rene de Ocampo must be credited for their superior service.

With the five Filipino fighters out of contention since Suarez’ elimination last Sunday, Picson attempted to rebook their tickets for an earlier flight home. Unfortunately, the original bookings were restricted.

Picson said the fighters will make good use of the free days to train and watch the survivors in the World Championships all the way to the finals, learning in the process what it takes to win in the high-caliber tournament.

For Gaspi and the five fighters, it’s been a huge sacrifice to be away from their families. Only Suarez is a bachelor in the group. They’ve been gone since leaving for Havana early last month.

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Ripamonti Hotel is where the 554 fighters from 133 countries are billeted for the World Championships. A shuttle bus leaves every 15 minutes to bring passengers to the Mediolanum Forum which is about a 30-minute ride away.

The record for most fighters in the World Championships’ 35-year history is 555 set in Chicago two years ago. The record for most participating countries is now 133 – breaking Chicago’s mark of 101.

Last Sunday, Gregorio and I took the No. 222 bus out of the hotel to go to Piazza Duomo via the No. 24 tram in the heart of the city. The round trip cost less than P100. Resplendent in the Piazza is the world’s third largest cathedral after St. Peter’s in Rome and the Cathedral of Seville. Construction of the Milan church started in 1386.

On the way back to the hotel, the tram I boarded out of Piazza Duomo was stalled because of a motorcycle accident that happened on the tracks. Passengers were asked to disembark. I walked about 30 minutes to the end of the tram line to catch the No. 222 bus for the Ripamonti Hotel. Otherwise, the trip was smooth sailing.

Food is provided for free to all World Championships participants. Breakfast is served from 7 to 9:30 a.m. but there is food for lunch and dinner starting 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. The buffet table is loaded with beef, pasta, salma, codfish, pork, different vegetables, cheeses, rice, bread, fruits and dessert.

Hosting the World Championships is no joke. Just imagine mobilizing staff to coordinate transportation, billeting, feeding and holding a trouble-free tournament. The cost for the media campaign alone to promote the World Championships was the equivalent of P140 million. Busan will stage the next edition in 2011, the first qualifiers for the London Olympics, and promises to outdo Milan – which remains to be seen.