For the second straight Olympic Games, the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) lived up to its lofty billing by coming home from Paris toting two bronze medals.
Following its epic two silver and one bronze haul in Tokyo during the rescheduled Summer Games in 2021, the Philippine boxing team put on another solid showing, thanks to Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas’ third-place finishes in the French capital.
It was enough for the ABAP to declare that 2024 proved to be another breakout year for the men and women of ABAP.
“This is a great year for the national boxing team. Of course, the highlight was the Paris Olympics where we qualified five boxers through the tough qualifying events and ultimately having another multi-medal performance at the Olympic stage,” said ABAP secretary general Marcus Manalo.
“We have also provided exposure to more boxers in the international scene. The year ended with good performances at the Asian Championships where we did not send Olympians but managed to come home with five medals.”
In Paris, those who attempted to make it to the podium include Tokyo bronze medalist Eumir Marcial and Tokyo silver medalist Carlo Paalam as well as female puncher Hergie Bacyadan.
Marcial, who entered the campaign armed with five wins in the professional ranks, got ambushed by Uzbekistan’s tall and rangy Torubek Khabibullaev in his first-round bout in the light-heavyweight division.
Bacyadan also fell prey to a crack Chinese bet in her maiden match while Paalam went as far as the quarterfinal round.
Petecio, silver medalist in Tokyo in the feather class, had her run halted by Polish Julia Szeremeta in a disputable decision.
Villegas was the surprise package as she defied the odds by also taking the bronze.
Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu put an end to her golden dreams but the Leyte native was still on cloud nine given that she was never regarded as a legit medal contender.
Their exploits also magnified the Philippines’ sparkling overall performance in Paris, adding gymnast Carlos Yulo’s double gold.
Petecio and Villegas’ medal production has only made the ABAP leadership even more convinced that the association is indeed on the right track for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Manalo is looking forward to what’s on the horizon.
“Next year is another busy year with the World Championships, continental championships, and the SEA (Southeast Asian) Games. The goal is to improve our grassroots program and further improve our elite program particularly in providing more international training and competition opportunities for our boxers,” he added.
Manalo is being assisted in making the ABAP one of the most noteworthy NSAs by the members of the coaching staff led by Australian Don Abnett and a local crew spiked with Barcelona Olympics bronze medalist Roel Velasco and many-time standout Ronald Chavez, Elias Recaido and Reynaldo Galido.
With LA just three years away, it appears the ABAP is on target.