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BACOLOD
CITY—Rep. Monico Puentevella supported the call of
sports’ godfather Manny V. Pangilinan for a review of
the country’s amateur boxing program and stressed the
need to tap the services of foreign coaches,
specifically Cubans.
“We have a scarcity of talent. That’s
why we really need to reassess our boxing program and
see what we need to do,” said Puentevella, the country’s
chief of mission to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He made
the comment during the finals of the First Golden Gloves
Monico Cup Interbarangay Amateur Boxing Tournament
Sunday at the SM City here.
“I think we need to go back to basics,
which is to strengthen our grassroots base, just like
what we’ve been doing here in Bacolod and the whole of
the Negros provinces,” added the first vice president of
the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).
Last week, Pangilinan, the
telecommunications mogul who pledged to bankroll the
Filipino boxers campaign in this year’s Olympics,
expressed his disappointment over the failure of five
national pugs to make the grade in the
recently-concluded Asian Qualifying Tournament in
Bangkok.
That left flyweight Harry Tanamor as the
country’s lone boxing bet so far in the in Beijing.
“I can’t blame if MVP [Pangilinan] was
disappointed because when you think about it, the Thais
already have an advantage over us (Filipinos) because
this early they have earned eight tickets to Beijing. Sa
coaching staff pa lang talo na tayo kasi may Cuban coach
na ang Thailand,” said Puentevella.
But the former Philippine Sports
Commission (PSC) commissioner stressed that “now is not
the right time to point fingers.”
He urged the Amateur Boxing Association
of the Philippines (ABAP), the PSC and Pangilinan to
continue their collaboration in the Olympic gold quest.
He also hailed the mission of PSC chairman William
Ramirez and ABAP president Manny Lopez to hire two
topnotch Cuban coaches as “a great step in realizing our
Olympic dream.”
“No offense to our local coaches, but I
believe we really need to hire Cuban coaches, and follow
the Cuban way of producing Olympic champions,”
Puentevella opined.
Ramirez and Lopez are currently in
Cuba
searching for a coach.
“Let’s
be humble enough to admit that the Cubans are doing
something right. They have only a couple of millions in
population, the Philippines have 85M. How come they have
40 gold medals in Olympics and we have none?” he
furthered.
Puentevella also said that the hiring of Cuban coach as
ordered by no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
is not just for a short-term goal.
“Actually, of the two Cuban coaches Ramirez will bring
here, one will be assigned to the national team, while
the other will be brought here in Bacolod to train our
new find talents. That’s the reason why we’re hiring two
Cubans,” Puentevella revealed.
He then
admitted that the
Philippines
winning the gold in Beijing is really a long shot.
“As the
country’s chef de mission I should not be saying that,
but that is the reality. So in
Beijing, I’ll be praying hard that we get a lucky draw and win the
gold,” he said.
“But if
we fail, there’s still the 2012 Olympics, and if we
could continue what we’ve started, especially in boxing,
we could finally win that elusive gold there, and it is
my strong belief that one of the boxers in this Monico
Cup will be the one who’ll deliver that.” |
