Philippine boxers seek repeat of 2005 medal haul

MANILA, Philippines — The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) is out to dominate the competition in the 30th SEA Games in November.

There are 13 gold medals to be disputed in the sport, and ABAP chief Ricky Vargas said duplicating the 2005 SEA Games haul is not mission impossible.

“Lahat daw kaya mag-gold (They all can win the gold),” Vargas said of the Filipino boxers seeing action in the SEA Games.

“We certainly would like that to happen,” added ABAP executive director Ed Picson, who’s in charge of the program.

Vargas challenged his boxers to do well in the event, and perhaps match or surpass the country’s eight-gold haul in the 2005 Manila SEA Games.

Thailand, the perennial foe, won six golds in 2005.

“Can we do better than the Thais? That remains to be seen,” said Picson, who has lined up seven or eight foreign exposures for the boxers.

It kicks off with the Asian Championships in Bangkok next week.

“While we will enjoy the hometown advantage, we cannot let our guard down. That’s why our boxers are training intensively,” he said.

“But we have to systematize the foreign exposure. We don’t want our boxers to peak too early,” Picson added.