Filipino-American Boxer Seeks Olympic Slot
January 25, 2008 by Sasha Manuel
Filed under Sports Rumors
The 18-year old Filipino-American light welterweight boxer Adam Bigornia Fiel, from Palo Alto, California will be competing in his first major tournament outside the US. With parents originally from Cebu and Manila, he seeks to represent the Philippines in the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing. Fiel will get a taste of world-class opposition, as one of the five-man RP team, at the First AIBA Asian Olympic boxing qualifying tournament beginning Friday, 25 January 2008 until 2 February, held in Bangkok, Thailand.
A light welterweight, Fiel along with flyweight Violito Payla, bantamweight Joan Tipon, lightweight Genebert Basadre and featherweight Orlando Tacuyan Jr. left Wednesday with the RP team via Philippine Airlines for Bangkok.
The team is headed by Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Manny T. Lopez.
Coaches are Pat Gaspi and ex-Olympian Ronald Chavez. Fiel and Tacuyan are newcomers while Payla and Basadre fell a win short of snatching Beijing Olympic berths during the World Championships in Chicago, Illinois last November.
It’ll be a long and tedious road ahead, I believe. If they want to compete in the Olympics, the RP boxers need at least three wins in order for them to advance to their respective event finals.
Good luck to the Philippine Team! I wish I’d be able to see you compete in Beijing!
