Victorio & Rey Saludar, Suarez, Boholst in finals

All 4 RP bets reach gold medal bouts in Finland

Victorio & Rey Saludar, Suarez, Boholst in finals



Tampere, Finland – The warmth of four silver medals – for now at
least – should be enough to keep the explosive fists of the PLDT-ABAP
National Boxing Team in the shivery 31st Tammer Cup here blazing all
the way to the Asian Games in Guangahou next month.

One after the other, Victorio Saludar, Charly Suarez, Delfin
Boholst and Rey Saludar marched into the gold medal fight by carving out pulsating
semifinal victories that propelled them into what could be the richest
medal harvest ever for the Philippines in this prestigious tournament.

The last time the Philippines participated here was in 2006 when Joan Tipon and Violito

Payla both struck gold. They repeated their golden feat in the Doha Asian Games 

that year.

The younger Saludar rallied from a 1-0 deficit to shock Russian Artem Ivaschenko,
4-1; Suarez showed too much class against Finnish Petteri Frojdholm,
7-2, in their 56-kilogram encounter; and Boholst broke the hearts of
the hometown crowd a second time by shutting down Jarkko Putkonen,
6-0, in the 64-kilogram class.

In the late afternoon session, Rey Saludar likewise had to come up with a big finish 

to upend a wily Irish lad, Declan Gerraghty, final score at 8-5.

“A great effort by our boxers, truly inspiring and heartwarming,” said
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines executive director Ed
Picson, who headed the Philippine delegation in the 31st year of the tournament
held at the Pyynikin Palloiluhallissa Sports Hall.

"Our main goal here was to have a tough tune-up for the coming Asian
Games. I think we're getting that,” he said. “If we win a gold medal
or four, that would be a welcome bonus."

Victorio Saludar will face England’s Charlie Edwards in the finals,
while Suarez will go up against Finland’s Matti Koota. Rey Saludar will

have Perro Matos of Portugal as his foe. Boholst’s
opponent has yet to be determined.

The trip here is the last leg of the "Road to Asian Games" blueprint
designed by ABAP president Ricky Vargas and given all-out support by
multi-industry mogul Manny V. Pangilinan, chairman of ABAP and
telecommunications giant PLDT.

The long road started with box-offs in Baguio and Manila, training
camps and tournaments in China and the United States and an
international tournament in Manila-the MVP Cup.(pr)

RP boxing team meets Pacman before leaving for Tammer Cup

BOXING icon Manny Pacquiao, center,  accepts a souvenir national team shirt from the PLDT-ABAP boxers bound for the Tammer Cup in Finland and the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Standing from left are: Delfin Boholst, Coach Roel Velasco, Charly Suarez, Victorio Saludar, Coach Ronald Chavez, Rey Saludar, RP women's team manager Karina Picson, Head Coach Pat Gaspi, and ABAP executive director Ed Picson. Seated in front are Coach Nolito Velasco and Annie Albania.[ABAP]







The Philippine National Boxing Team was among the handful of people allowed entry into the closed-door training session of world Pound-for-Pound King Manny Pacquiao in Baguio City Saturday.

Famed trainer Freddie Roach acceded to the request of ABAP officials Patrick Gregorio and Ed Picson who motored to Baguio City to oversee the final preparations of the boxers leaving for the prestigious Tammer Cup in Tampere, Finalnd this Tuesday.

Pacquiao had earlier assured ABAP officials that he would help in the training of our national boxers.

“Having our boxers observe firsthand the work ethic and intensity Pacquiao brings to his training sessions is more than enough to inspire our boxers and give them an idea of what the keys to success are. I just hope these sunk in”, commented Picson after Pacquiao’s grueling 2 1/2-hour session at the Shape-Up Gym .

Roach and conditioning expert  Alex Ariza have also pledged to visit the ABAP training camp in Baguio City to share their training and conditioning drills and techniques with the nationals.

“This can only redound to the benefit of our boxers. We thank Manny and his coaches for their enthusiasm in lending a hand to the team”, said Gregorio.

Boxers Victorio and Rey Saludar, Charly Suarez, products of the Brgy.Una Boxing Program founded by former Davao del Norte congressman Tony Boy Floirendo Jr. in Panabo City (Davao del Norte) before joining the national team, and Delfin Boholst leave on Tuesday for Finland for the prestigious Tammer Cup which has lured 23 participating countries, mostly European.

“We want to be exposed to the European style because some of our opponents in the Asian Games like the Kazakhs and the Uzbeks have similar styles”, according to Picson.

Annie Albania and Wilfredo Lopez will join them in November for the Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, China.[pr]

DAVAO DEL NORTE’S CHARLY SUAREZ WINS IN THE 2009 MILAN AIBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

DAVAO DEL NORTE’S CHARLY SUAREZ WINS IN THE 2009 MILAN AIBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
As the five-man Philippine Team contingent faces the toughest challenge in the on-going 2009 AIBA World Championships in Milan, Italy, a Davao del Norte amateur pugilist surely made a mark in this prestigious event.
Charly Suarez, easily Mindanao’s most promising amateur boxing standout to date who started his early amateur days as a member of the nationally-acclaimed Tonyboy Floirendo-fathered Barangay Una Boxing Team before joining the Philippine Team training pool, played with wit and grit as he overwhelmed Julian Stan of Romania with a score of 18-8. His next fight will be against the Korean Min Jae Joo ranked no.55 in the world ratings. Suarez, now a Philippine Army campaigner in the featherweight division (55-57 kgs.) is one of the five amateur boxers to represent the country in this tourney which features top caliber fighters from around the globe. Other team members include 2008 Moscow World Championships Gold Medalist Harry Tañamor, 2006 Doha Asian Games Gold Medalist Joan Tipon, Genebert Basadre, and Joegin Ladon.
Though still young at 23, Charly Suarez already participated in numerous international tournaments such as the 2009 Chicago World Championships, 2006 Thailand King’s Cup, among others and has recently finished his training with other RP bets in Cuba along with Rey Saludar, also a former Barangay Una Boxing Team stalwart.
Cong. Anton Lagdameo of the 2nd District of Davao del Norte who continues to support the grassroots program of the Barangay Una Boxing Team, is very much pleased with the results saying ”Though the win of Suarez is still in the preliminary stages, his triumph is well-meant as it signifies also the success of our Barangayanihan Sports Development Program particularly in amateur boxing at the grassroot-level and its contribution to the nation’s training pool”. Lagdameo hoped that Suarez along with the other competing RP Team fighters will eventually have a breakthrough campaign and haul back a gold medal to the country.