Iron sharpens iron as the Paris-bound Philippine boxing team got the chance to spar fellow compatriots and future foes.
With a little over a week before Paris 2024, Team Philippines’ Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villegas and Hergie Bacdayan are doubling down with their preparation by facing familiar and future foes.
Petecio’s brother Norlan and another amateur boxer Junmilardo Ogayre flew all the way from Manila to serve as sparring partners for the Filipino boxing Olympians.
In the morning, they sparred with Nesthy Petecio and Villegas in Metz, France. They then traveled for about an hour to Saarbrücken, Germany to do the same with Paalam and Bacyadan.
Norlan and Junmilardo didn’t mind going back-and-forth between two countries.
“Nakakapagod pero masaya. Exposure din ito para sa`min ito. Kahit nakakapagod, andun pa rin yung saya na nakakatulong kami sa ibang teammates namin para sa Olympics,” Ogayre spoke.
Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) Secretary-General Marcus Manalo noted the importance of the Paris-bound boxers getting a chance to spar with their compatriots.
“Nasa Manila pa lang, we show our appreciation sa mga training partners kasi kung wala sila ‘di rin talaga mapupush yung mga boxers natin," he said.
The work doesn’t stop there.
Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Paalam then shared the ring with Belgian Vasile Usturoi, a fellow Paris-bound athlete and a much taller foe for the Filipino boxer.
[ALSO READ: Gold on the horizon: Carlo Paalam continues quest for coveted Olympic glory]
Although not fully showing his arsenal, Paalam understood the scouting report: “Nagtantiyahan lang talaga kami. Ang akin lang is tamaan ko siya ng mga counter [ko]. Nakatama din siya sakin pero basa ko yung laro niya. Adjust-adjust lang."
Meanwhile, Bacdayan spent time with rising star Patricia Mbata of Nigeria and Aoife O’Rourke of Ireland. The 29-year-old pugilist noticed the tactical game happening in between the sparring sessions.
[ALSO READ: For PH, LGBTQ+, Kalinga: Hergie Bacyadan hopes to turn adversities into success in Paris 2024]
“Parehas kami nagbabasahan, ang nilamang ko naman [ay] nakikita ko na agad yung movement ni Ireland [O’Rourke] so ayun 'yung advantage ko.”
Villegas echoed the same sentiment in her sparring session with Jennifer Lozano of the USA.
“Iba po kasi talaga yung sa sparring tsaka ‘yung sa competition mismo.”
[ALSO READ: T'was Tacloban toughness: A look back on Aira Villegas’ Paris 2024 journey]
(With reports from Carlo Pamintuan, Cignal TV/One Sports)
Story Summary:
- Amateur boxers Norlan Petecio and Junmilardo Ogayre help the Filipino Olympians intensify their Paris 2024 prep with dual-country sparring sessions in France and Germany.
- Carlo Paalam also faced Paris-bound Vasile Usturoi of Belgium in training, while Hergie Bacyadan spent valuable time with Patricia Mbata of Nigeria and Aoife O'Rourke of Ireland.
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Aira Villegas also had a sparring session with Jennifer Lozano of Team USA.
[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital team. The summary was generated by AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]