Despite missing the podium in the World Championships recently in Liverpool, England, the Philippine men’s boxing team remains upbeat that it will fare better when Thailand hosts the 33rd Southeast Asian Games this December.
A six-man squad made up of four first-timers in the worlds, went home empty-handed but the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) believes the experience gained by the rookies would help them prepare for the future.
ABAP Secretary-general Marcus Manalo said the entire team all agreed that training methods have to be tweaked to ensure a better showing next time.
“We had a long reflection session as a team and we were able to come up with action plans when we return to training. Among these are about the connection between boxers and coaches, some tweaks in training to attain strong finishes in the last round, the timing and quantity of competition sparring necessary, improvement of defensive stance, and tactical adjustments within the bout,” Manalo said.
The Liverpool squad was made up of Jay Baricuatro, Junmilardo Ogayre, Mark Ashley Fajardo, Ronald Chavez Jr. and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam in men’s and Riza Pasuit in women’s competition.
“The team still performed okay despite not getting to the podium. This is the highest level of competition outside the Olympics and we sent a young team with four of six boxers who are first-timers at the World Championships.”
The Philippines is looking to improve from its 4-5-1 gold-silver-bronze tally from 2023 in Cambodia.
Manalo said they expect Paalam and Baricuatro to do well in the prestigious biennial meet after their performance in the World Championships.
Baricuatro suffered a 2-3 loss to Martin Molina Salvador of Spain in the Last 16 of the men’s 50-kilogram class while Paalam lost to Junior Alcantara-Reyes of the Dominican Republic via a split decision in the Round of 32 of the 55-kg division.