TOKYO - Believe it or not, Carlo Paalam almost bid the Tokyo Olympics goodbye because of a bad case of miscommunication.
The 23-year old Olympic debutant breezed through the first round of his round-of-32 match against Ireland's Brendan Irvine, tagging his taller opponent with crisp shots and getting the nod of all five judges at the bell.
"He kinda punched very well, he was well in control," said Don Abnett, the Philippine team's Aussie coach. "I said, 'Don't change anything.' Just keep on."

But to Abnett's horror, a totally different Paalam came out of their corner in the second round, charging mindlessly at the Irishman and lunging desperately, getting tagged time and again in the process.
"He panicked and threw caution to the wind and was in a panic to get back into the fight," said a puzzled Abnett, watching in horror as a disjointed Paalam allowed Irvine to get back in the match.
He got his answer later. Turned out assistant coach Ronald Chavez tried telling Paalam that he was 5-0 ahead after one round; the boxer from Bukidnon thought he heard being 5-nil behind.
"The assistant coach Ronald Chavez said it was 5-nil our way and Carlo thought it was 5-nil the other way," Abnett said.
Fortunately, Paalam had one more round to set it right, going all out in the final three minutes. One judge gave two of three rounds to Irvine, but the others gave the young Filipino pug a 4-1 split decision and a place in the round-of-16.
Now both coach and boxer can heave a sigh of relief.
"Nakita nyo naman, pagod na pagod na pero suntok ng suntok pa rin. Gusto kong manalo po, para sa pamilya at sa team po," Paalam said. "Sa haba ng training, tatalunin ka lang? So buhos-buhos ko na lahat."
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