Petecio in, Paalam out

MANILA, Philippines — Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam is skipping the Bangkok SEA Games next month to give way to Ian Clark Bautista but another Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Nesthy Petecio will continue her journey in bidding for her third gold in the 11-nation conclave.

Paalam, 27, fell ill during the selection phase for the national boxing team and begged off from qualifying despite an offer to reschedule a box-off for the 57kg slot. His withdrawal opened the door for Bautista to claim the berth. Bautista, 31, is a three-time SEA Games gold medalist. “Carlo basically gave way for Ian Clark whom he has a huge respect for,” said ABAP secretary-general Marcus Manalo.

Petecio, 33, competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics like Paalam but both came home empty-handed. She had a serious rethinking about her boxing career before deciding to battle in her seventh SEA Games. Petecio’s first SEA Games appearance was in 2011 in Jakarta where she took a silver in the bantamweight division.

“Nesthy’s training in Thailand right now,” said Manalo. “Her prep isn’t as complete as we wanted it but let’s see.” Petecio, who’s entered in the 60kg class, anchors the women squad. The others are Ofelia Magno (48kg), Aira Villegas (50kg), Claudine Veloso (54kg) and Riza Pasuit (57kg). The men’s team is composed of Jay Bryan Baricuatro (48kg), Marvin Tabamo (51kg), Flint Jara (54kg), Bautista, Junmilardo Ogayre (60kg), Weljon Mindoro (75kg) and Eumir Marcial (80kg). “We’re lining up 13 boxers in the SEA Games, the max we can bring based on the rules with a limit of seven men and six women,” said Manalo.