TOKYO - From the two men and two women the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (Abap) sent to the Tokyo Olympics, nobody would've been surprised if Carlo Paalam became the first to turn 'tourist' at the Athletes Village.
Now he's the last man standing.
The strange but exhilirating turn of events has suddenly become the focal point of what is already the best Olympic performance by the Philippines ever as the Summer Games wind down to its final three days in this steamy Japanese capital.
A campaign blessed with a historic first gold medal by weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz and a silver and bronze by boxers Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Marcial, respectively, can get even better if the young Paalam can get past Briton Galal Yafai in the gold-medal match of the flyweight division at 2 p.m. on Saturday (1 p.m., Manila time).
That Paalam is in this position is a surprise in itself, considering the former 'mangangalakal' from Cagayan de Oro looked to have missed the Olympic boat after losing in the qualifiers until the final spots were filled up based on the rankings.
Abap executive director Ed Picson first saw Paalam as an 11-year old in Cagayan de Oro mayor Oscar Moreno's boxing stable and had seen the kid's development since he joined the national pool as a 15 year old.
" I have known him from the time he was 10, 11 years old and he always impressed me," said Picson. "He is the complete boxer. Good hand speed, footwork, defense. And very coachable. He’s a coach’s dream."
Reynaldo Galido, a former Asian Games gold medalist and now a member of the national coaching staff, said Paalam doesn't stop training until he gets its right.
"Kunwari may tinuro ang coach, di s'ya titigil hangga't di n'ya nakukuha yon," Galido said. "Maganda ang disiplina ng bata na 'yan."
Philippine coach Don Abnett was the least surprised to see that Paalam has yet to bid 'sayonara' at this late stage of the Games.
"Yes," the Aussie coach said when asked if he expected Paalam to get this deep in the boxing tournament at the Kokugikan Arena, "because of his attitude in the training and his performance in the training."
To prove his point, Abnett cited Uzbekistan's Shakhobidin Zoirov, the Olympic, world and Asian champion who Paalam stunned in the quarterfinals. Before the Olympics, Zoirov was beaten in the qualifiers by Thai boxer Thitisan Panmot who Paalam sparred with regularly during the Philippine team's pre-Games camp in Thailand.
That Thai teen sensation, Abnett said, used to toy with Paalam in training as well, but only for so long. The Filipino youngster worked so hard that by the end of the training camp, he was routinely outclassing Thitisan in sparring.
The Thai boxer never got to Tokyo owing to injury.
"Carlos put a lot into his training and preparation for this tournament that every move that boy [Zoirov] made, Carlos had an answer," said Australia's former national coach, "so I thought he'd get this far in the competition."
Yafai is not as intimidating as the previous opponents Paalam faced. At 28, the southpaw from Birmingham's biggest edge is experience, which he put to good use in a 3-2 semifinal victory over Saken Bibossinov - the same Kazahk fighter who beat Paalam in the Olympic qualifiers.
But Picson said the boxing team isn't taking him lightly, preparing for the finals as diligently as it did for every single Paalam fight.
"Sana po ipagkaloob sa atin ng Panginoon," said Paalam.
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