PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Carlo Paalam opens his gold medal bid on Saturday even as three other Filipinos were guaranteed a podium finish in boxing following Friday’s draw for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
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Paalam faces Sao Rangsey of Cambodia in the preliminaries of the men’s 54kg division - a task teammates John Marvin, Markus Cezar Tongco, and Norlan Petecio will no longer have to go through.
Marvin and Tongco were assured of at least a bronze after the 80kg and 92kg weight categories only drew four entries each. Petecio, brother of Olympic silver medalist Nesthy, drew a first-round bye in the men’s 67kg division.
Also fighting in Day One are Paul Julyfer Bascon and Irish Magno. Bascon takes on Aung Soe Moe of Myanmar in the preliminaries of the men’s 60kg, while Magno goes for a seat in the semifinals when she takes on Nan A Mwe Hom of Myanmar.
Paalam, a silver medalist in the Tokyo Olympics, is set to compete in the SEA Games on the back of his victory at the Asian Championships last year.
“He is definitely our best bet,” said Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines executive director Marcus Jarwin Manalo.
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