High hopes on Phl boxers

I won’t stick my neck out and say anything close to a sweep.

The Philippines stands a good chance of winning the overall championship of the 30th Southeast Asian Games boxing competitions, but Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines secretary general Ed Picson would rather show guarded optimism than proclaim total dominance.

“We’re in a very good place now that the hometown crowd is behind us and our boxers peaking just in time,” said Picson, who quashed the notion that the team will be shooting for a sweep of the 13 gold medals at stake.

“All of our boxers are capable of winning, but there’s a lot of factors that we have to consider.”

“I won’t stick my neck out and say anything close to a sweep. You have to consider many things, like the luck of the draw or if you fall to an unfavorable bracket.”

Heading the boxing team are two-time SEA Games gold medalist Eumir Felix Marcial, who claimed the second ranking in the world championships held in Ekaterinburg, Russia as well as John Tupas-Marvin, who will be shooting for his second straight gold medal in the biennial meet.

Also in the lineup are Carlo Paalam, Rogen Ladon, Ian Clark Bautista, Charly Suarez, James Palicte and Joel Bacho.

In the distaff side will be Josie Gabuco, Irish Magno, Aira Villegas, Nesthy Petecio and Risa Pasuit.

While Picson has shown guarded optimism, he nevertheless is proud of their SEA Games squad, which will embark on a final training camp in the first week of November in Australia.

After that camp, Picson expects his team to peak just in time for the boxing competitions that begin 4 December at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila.

“Our boxers are always a source of gold medals in the Philippines’ SEA Games campaigns,” Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William Ramirez said.