Younger Saludar shows old form in nat'l championship

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte – The road back to the national team is getting closer and closer for Victorio Saludar III.

Flashing the old fighting brilliance he once showed before breaking his hand and getting dismissed from national team duties due to disciplinary issues, Saludar made quick work of host Maasin City's Michael Kaibigan via a RSC (referee-stopped contest) to top the elite light flyweight division of the PLDT-ABAP National Championships Friday night.

It was an impressive win for the 22-year-old Saludar, a 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games bronze medalist who is also the younger brother of national team mainstay Rey, as he needed just less than half a minute to force the referee to stop the contest to the dismay of the enthusiastic local crowd headed by host Mayor Maloney Samaco that packed the Maasin City Gym.

"I just want to earn my old slot in the national team," said the 22-year-old Saludar, a proud son of Polomoloc, South Cotabato, in Filipino.

The impressive effort of Saludar earned him the recommendations of Ronald Chavez and Elias Recaido, former national team hotshots who are now part of the national coaching staff, for re-inclusion in the national squad.

"We will recommend him (Saludar)," echoed Chavez and Recaido.

But everything will hinge on the decision of the ABAP board that included its executive director Ed Picson. 

"It's up to the board really, we'll see," Picson told The STAR.

Saludar was actually the country's biggest Olympic hope for the 2012 London Games but he injured his left hand and eventually underwent an operation. For curious reasons, Picson said absenteeism forced ABAP's hands to dismiss him.

Now he's back.

Meanwhile, Davao del Norte emerged the best performing team as it snared a whopping seven gold medals including Saludar's at the close of the event sponsored by PLDT, Smart and this quiet, clean charming coastal city.

Jolan Bunghanoy, Quirino Mellejor, Jr., Risty Apas, Jay Ar Inson, Gabriel Rabicyle and Michael John Bahena delivered the other triumphs for the Panabo-based stable known for producing top caliber pugs including the country's lone London Olympics entry in Mark Anthony Barriga.

Bunghanoy downed Cabanatuan's Genesis Libranza in the elite light fly, Mellejor trounced Cebu's Reoxyl Tabogon in the elite bantam, Apas bested Maasin's Daryl Ramos in the elite light and Inson outclassed Maasin's Richard Bacala in the elite light welter.

Bahena Rabicyle earlier hurdled their respective foes to spearhead Davao del Norte's charge.