Boxing: Davao reigns supreme

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – The boxing gloves are off.

True to its billing, Davao Region ran away with the most medals in the 2012 Palarong Pambansa boxing tournament with two golds, one silver and 3 bronze medals at the close of the competitions Friday, May 11 at the Lingayen Municipal Plaza here.

Minimumweight Pitt Laurente and light mosquito weight Joshua Vanguardia led the charge for Region XI, a boxing hotbed and source of numerous national boxers, after outclassing their foes via points from the judges.

“Nagpapasalamat ako sa Panginoon at sa trainers namin (I’m grateful to God, to our trainers),” Vanguardia said. “Sila ang dahilan kung bakit nakakuha ako ng gold medal dito (They are the reason I won the gold).”

Western Visayas joined in the fray and romped away with two gold medals courtesy of Vince Montana, ant weight, and Mario Jaga, Jr., mosquito weight.

Elementary gold medallist Montana savored his victory after 3 rounds of exchanging blows with his opponent from the Central Visayas Region. For him, this win moves him a step closer to his ultimate dream.

“Maglalaro po ako hanggang makapaglaro ako sa professional boxing (I will keep fighting until I become a professional boxer),” Montana notes.

Central Luzon, Ilocos and Cotabato regions also went home with one gold medal each and were awarded by Lingayen mayor Jonas Castaneda.

Early preparations

Davao boxing head coach Rolando Oring, preparation was their key to winning as they started preparations months before the games.

“Nagkaroon pa ng labanan ng all-Mindanao kasama Region XII and XI so nandiyan talaga yung malalakas (There was an all-Mindanao tournament with Region XII and XI so all the best boxers were there),” said Oring.

As early as now, Oring and his team are already preparing for next year’s Palaro.

“Sa ngayon ay nasa transition period kami. Kung ikumpara namin yung record namin from Zamboanga last year, mas marami kaming medals ngayon. This is because of the boxing program and the continued support of our Mayor. Itutuloy naming iyong sinumulan (For now, we are at a transition period. If you compare our record to Zamboanga last year, we have more medals this year. We will continue what our Mayor started),” Oring said.

The Davao boxing team’s hard work has paid off and with the improvement they’ve shown, it is not impossible to believe that Oring will be able to produce national boxers like Mark Barriga, his protégé.

“Umaangat na ngayon yung boxing dahil sa training namin. Bunga ito lahat ng continued program namin (Boxing is improving because of our training. It is a product of our continued program),” Oring said.

Below is the complete list of boxing winners:

Antweight Division (32kg)
Gold: Vince Montana (Western Visayas Region)
Silver: Lloyd Jabez Antoque (Central Visayas Region)
Bronze: Chavito Lomuntad (Ilocos Region) and Kier Lampago (MIMAROPA)

Minimum Weight (34kg)
Gold: Criztian Pitt Laurente (Davao Region)
Silver: Cristian John Casañares (Central Visayas Region)
Bronze: Carl Crispino (Bicol Region) and Ray Naelgas (MIMAROPA)

Light Mosquito Weight (38kg)
Gold: Ven Joshua Vanguardia (Davao Region)
Silver: Erwin Jan Campaner (Zamboanga Peninsula Region)
Bronze: Richard Sequiño Jr. (Cotabato Region) and Ariel Sibay (Central Visayas)

Mosquito Weight (40kg)
Gold: Mario Jaga, Jr. (Western Visayas Region)
Silver: Esneth Ray Domingo (Cotabato Region)
Bronze: Expedito Casabuena (Bicol Region) and Ferdinand Apat (Davao Region)

Light Paper Weight (42kg)
Gold: Bryan Quitalig (Central Luzon Region)
Silver: Boy Brian Daygon (Cotabato Region)
Bronze: Khem John Samoranos (Davao Region) and Emmanuel Tapia Jr. (NCR)

Pin Weight (46kg)
Gold: Ryan Torres (Ilocos Region)
Silver: Ariel Tibayan (Central Luzon Region)
Bronze: Francis Bacelonia (Bicol Region) and Patrick Dinolan (Davao Region)

Light Fly Weight (49kg)
Gold: Jade Bornea (Cotabato Region)
Silver: Philip John Fuentes (Davao Region)
Bronze: Anfernee Palarca (CARAGA) and Kevin Cataraja (Central Visayas)

– Rappler.com