6 Filipino boxers advance to President's Cup semis

Manila, Philippines - Josie Gabuco, Charly Suarez and Analisa Cruz hurdled their respective rivals to join three other PLDT-ABAP team members in the semifinal round of the 21st President’s Cup at the Senayan Indoor Stadium in Jakarta Wednesday.

Gabuco, a World Championship bronze medalist, overwhelmed Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai with her speed and solid combinations to essay a 21-5 victory.

Suarez likewise dominated local bet Ralin Lumoli with his power and defense and rolled to an 18-11 win in their lightweight (60kg) clash.

Cruz proved unrelenting in offense, scoring with head blows and body shots to pummel Nurmala Deli, also of Indonesia, 24-6, in the 51-kg clash.

The victories thus assured the Philippines of six bronze medals with Ian Clark Bautista (49kg), Nesthy Petecio (51kg; women) and Nathaniel Montealto (64kg) going for finals berths in their respective divisions Thursday.

“We’re happy that six of our boxers have assured themselves of bronze medals. But our previous matches here were skirmishes. We now go to battle and this is where we need to be at our best,” said Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines executive director Ed Picson.

He added: “Although our main objective here was to gauge our strengths and weaknesses, the opportunity has presented itself. It’s going to be tough, but we’ll go for it every time.”

The team’s campaign is supported by Manny Pangilinan and Ricky Vargas and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, PLDT, Accel, G4S, Powerade and Clusivol.

Gabuco and Petecio both face Indonesians, while Cruz has a veteran Japanese Aya Shinmoto as her opponent. Bautista goes up against Indian Gaurav Bidhuri, Suarez versus Yeldos Saidalin of Kazakhstan, and Montealto challenges a tough Russian, Alexander Malinin, in their respective bids to get to the finals on Friday.

Coaches for the PLDT-ABAP national boxing team are Ronald Chavez and Sonny Dollente. Women’s team manager is Karina Picson.