THE Philippine boxing team will have a busy schedule in the lead-up to the Asian Games.
National coach Don Abnett said he is happy with the performance of the boxing team in the SEA Games where they captured four gold medals – just part of their overall build-up for the Asiad set Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 in Hangzhou, China.
See Paalam, Petecio deliver, Bascon impresses in debut as PH boxing gets 3 more golds
“This is the start of their preparation for the Asian Games,” said Abnett to SPIN.ph recently.
“The performance was pleasing. We probably expect one or two more golds. But that wasn’t to be. But if you ask about their performance, I’m happy with their performance because it’s the start of their preparations for the Asian Games,” said Abnett, considered one of the persons behind the recent success of the boxing team that saw the Philippines win two silver medals from Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio, and bronze from Eumir Marcial in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

After their break from the SEA Games competition, Abnett said the boxing team will have a training camp in Baguio next month where a team from Australia and India will join.
The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap) will also stage a box-off after their four-week camp in Baguio to determine the roster for the Asian Games, according to Abnett.
Abnett added a tournament in Kazakhstan and training camps in Thailand and Ireland are also scheduled before they head to China for the final stage of their preparation for the Asian Games.
“We have that long road the next two to three months to the Asian Games,” said Abnett.
Paalam and Petecio bagged the gold medal in their respective weight categories, while Ian Clark Bautista won his third straight SEA Games title. Paul Julyfer Bascon was equally impressive, winning gold in his debut in the biennial meet.
The four boxers plus SEA Games finalists Rogen Ladon, Norlan Petecio, John Marvin, Irish Magno, and Risa Pasuit are also expected to be contenders for slots in the Asiad following the criteria of the Philippine Olympic Committee that gold and silver medalists in the recent biennial conclave are shoo-ins.
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