MANILA, Philippines – Two members of the national boxing team under the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) will be awarded by the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC), the continental federation for boxing, for their achievements in the year about to end, according to ASBC executive director Bagdaulet Turekhanov.
Rogen Ladon, of Bago, Negros Occidental, won the silver in the Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand and went on to capture a bronze medal in the World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Criz Sander Laurente, on the other hand, pocketed a silver medal in the Asian Junior Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan last June.
Turekhanov announced the news in an email from the ASBC headquarters in Almaty, Kazakhstan to ABAP.
The 22-year-old Ladon, however, fell one victory short of landing a slot in the Rio Olympics next year.
Laurente, 15, is one of two brothers from Gen. Santos City tapped by ABAP to the national pool in their talent discovery program. He could have turned in a higher podium finish if not for a bum stomach that hit him early in the tournament.
While Laurente fought through it in the quarters and the semis, he was so weak and dehydrated by the time the finals came around that he had to withdraw from the gold medal bout.
ABAP president Ricky Vargas expressed elation over the news and congratulated the two boxers and the ABAP coaching staff as he exhorted the entire national boxing team to always “strive for excellence for flag and country.”