THE Philippines is iooking at a possible three-way battle for supremacy in the boxng competitions of the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi on May 12-23.

That’s because Thailand, a perennial champion in the regional competitions, and Vietnam, the host country looking for a breakthrough at home , are expected to give 2019 SEAG champion Philippines a “run for its money.”

Still, Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) president Ed Picson is keeping his cards close to his chest as far as the actual number of gold medals that the Filipinos expect to win.

“As you all know, I never make medal predictions, lalong-lalo ngayon na iba ang kundisyon na nagkaroon ng two-year break because of the pandemic,”said Picson during the weekly “Sports On Air” via Zoom last March 4.

“But in Hanoi, it should be close. The Philippines and Thailand are always fighting it out for supremacy in boxing in every SEA Games. But now we’re also looking at host Vietnam,” added Picson, who previously served as secretary-general of ABAP when the country brought home two Tokyo Olympics silver medals courtesy of Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam and bronze by Eumir Marcal.

“But I can tell you we are confident we can perform as well as we did in the last SEA Games. We always fought tooth and nail against Thailand. And now that there’s Vietnam, it promises to be a very interesting tournament.”

The Filipinos captured seven gold medals against five by Thailand and one by Vietnam during the 2019 SEA Games in Manila.

But with Vietnam as the host, things could be a lot different this time.

“Sa SEA Games, lagi naman Philippines versus Thailand yan. Pero ngayon tinitignan na din namin ang Vietnam dahil maganda yun programa nila at sila pa nga ang host ang ngayon,” Picson told the six-man panel composed of veteran journalists and bloggers.

“As a matter of fact, Vietnam even hired a Thai coach for about three years although nakabalik na ng Thailand yun sinasabi kong coach na yan. Siya na ang head coach ng Thailand,” added Picson.

“Malakas ngayon ang Vietnam, lalong-lalo na sa babae at inaasahan natin na talagang magiging maigting ang labanan. At syempre dahil sila nga ang hosts ngayon, they can dictate kung ano ang mga weight categories na papayagan ilahok sa SEA Games.”

“Madami ngayong changes, na kung saan puro pabor sa kanila. Pero ganun talaga. We do not object kasi alam mo naman ang SEA Games friendly yan. Binibigyan talaga ng pagkakataon ang host country na mag-dikta. Halimbawa, sabihin nila sige kayo puwede 10 boxers lang, babae man o lalaki. Pero ang host Vietnam, 13 weight categories. Kumpleto talaga.”

Picson, however, assured that ABAP is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the Philippines will be able to defend its overall boxing championship.

“Tuloy-tuloy naman ang pagsasanay ng ating mga boksingero kahit pa nga medyo limitado pa. Sa Teacher’s Camp sa Baguio City, na kung saan nandun ang ating main training center, medyo mahigpit pa. Siguro mga 30-40 percent lang ng ating mga boksingero ang pinayagan maka-akyat. It’s a big challenge for us.”

Picson, however, said the boxing association is sending select athletes for month-long training in Thailand starting March 15.

“Yung Thailand ang pinakamalapit nating partner sa boxing, kahit pa sila ang pinaka-mahigpit nating kalaban sa SEA Games. Nagkakaintindihan kami ng liderato ng Thailand boxing kaya naman nagtutulungan kami lagi,” claimed Picson.

“Last year, Thailand hosted us for almost seven months before the Tokyo Olympics. Pitong buwan na nag-training ang mga boksingero natin sa isang lugar na tinatawag nilang Muak Lek district, which is about two hours by car from Bangkok. Medyo liblib na lugar iyun na aabot siguro ng mga 12-15 hectares. Lahat ng sports nandun pero madalas talaga boxing. Kailangan pa ng kotse kung lalabas ka ng compound at pagdating mo sa gate, freeway na. Kaya naka-focus talaga sa training ang mga coaches at boxers natin.”

“Ang sabi nga ng mga kaibigan nating Thai officials, naka three medals tayo sa Olympics after seven months of training sa kanila. Pero sila isa lang, at bronze pa. Kaya nga ang sabi nila, sa Pilipinas naman sila mag-train.”

Asked about the schedule of the invitational boxing competition in Thailand, Picson said it wil be first week of April.

“Pero yung national team natin papupuntahin natin ng maaga para makapag two weeks of training pa all the way to SEA Games in Hanoi. We’re really hoping that this stint in Thailand can jumpstart our efforts.”

“The Thailand trip is really a good exposure for the national team composed of 12 to 13 boxers and three to four coaches. TWo weeks training, two weeks tournament,’ explained Picson.

“Yung ibang boxers natin, like Carlo (Paalam) and Nesthy (Petecio), nagyon pa lang talaga naghahabol sa timbang. Carlo even had an invitation to compete in Tournament of Champions on the third week of March, pero he begged off dahil alam niyang hindi pa maganda ang kundisyon niya. Yan mga boxers hindi naman basta-basta sasabak yan sa laban.”

“Even sa mga female boxers, may mga plano tayo. Yung mga nandoon sa Thailand training camp na hindi makakasama sa tournament, pwede naman sila manatili doon. They can stay there and train some more. Pwede silang makipag-sparring sa ibang foreign boxers na nandun. Kahit yun mga natalo, hindi naman mga pipitsuging mga boxers yun kaya maganda din ka-sparring ng mga boxers natin.”

Picson said ABAP is just waiting for the financial assisstance of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

“Actually, we’re just waiting for funding (from the PSC). Last February or early March, dapat may tournament sa Uzbekistan, na hindi namin napuntahan because of COVID-19 issues. Approved na ng PSC yung budget para dun, so we’re just hoping mare-align yung budget para dito sa Thailand.” with reports from Gab Ferreras