Fantastic Five

MADRID, Spain — The five-man Philippine boxing team is running on all cylinders a little over two weeks before the Paris Olympics.

Female fighters Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas have joined Hergie Bacyadan and the male duo of Eumir Marcial and Carlo Paalam in Saarbrücken, Germany for the final stage of their buildup.

As per reports from key people inside the camp, everything is right on track as Paalam and Petecio, silver medalists in Tokyo, and bronze medal winner Marcial, attempt to upgrade them to gold.

But the road is going to be rocky.

Even if Marcial got seeded in the lightweight class, the rest of those who were not picked remain highly-competitive.

Still, the think-tank of the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (Abap) is moving heaven and earth to boost the squad’s chances of going all the way to the top.

And with the Abap top brass rallying behind them, there’s no reason for them to make any excuses.

The boxers went to almost every training camp that was available beginning last year. The tournaments that they competed in were also topnotch.

They trained in the United States, Australia and Thailand and competed in as far as Italy for the Olympic qualifiers, too.

If only there was a training camp on the moon, the Abap would have sent them there.

So, it’s just right to say that while the boxers didn’t get as much support and backing as the fabled Gilas Pilipinas team, they weren’t given peanuts, either.

Marcial was the first qualifier after placing second in the Hangzhou Asian Game last year while Petecio and Villegas got their Olympic berths during the Italian qualifiers early this year.

Paalam and Bacyadan booked their places during the second and last qualifying in Bangkok last month.

Based on my conversations through the past few weeks with Abap officials, the boxers are ready to rumble.

I am not making any predictions but here’s one thing I am going to say:

If they all end up being blown away even before making the medal rounds, I will likely bang my head on the wall in disgust.

That’s gonna hurt, I know.

q q q

By the time this issue hits the streets, I should be on my way back after three weeks on the road in Europe. It’s been a stressful but satisfying trip. Looking forward to next year’s journey.