Manila (19 March) --- More than 25 boxing teams representing the different provinces, cities and municipalities in the Visayas are feverishly gearing up for the 1st Smart/ABAP Area Boxing Tournament which kicks off on March 22 to 27 in the neighboring Ormoc City and Kananga town in Leyte.

Cong. Monico Puentevella, who hosted the successful National Amateur Boxing Championships in Bacolod early this year, says his Bacolod team will come out in full force to defend the championship they won on their home turf.


However, Gov. Raul Daza of Northern Samar, ABAP Region 8 president , cautions everyone that since the competition is being held in his territory, other teams shouldn't be too confident because more boxers will be available from the Samar, Leyte and Biliran provinces.

"Now the homecourt advantage is ours" said Daza who said from his team alone, there will be 15 young boys eager to show the results of their gruelling preparation for the event.

The tournament is one of the many events lined up by the new ABAP leadership under chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and president Ricky Vargas. It is open to boys from the kids (11 year to 12 years old) to the youth category (under 19 years old).

Vargas said this is one of the falgship projects of the Pangilinan dispensation "that we give all our aspiring boxers in the countryside all the opportunities to surface and be recognized and hopefully, be part of the national pool." Similar tournaments will be held in the succeeding months in Luzon, Mindanao and Southern Tagalog.

Hosts for the Visayas tournament are brothers Eric Codilla, Mayor of Ormoc and Elmer Codilla, who is chief executive of Kananga town.

Both places are progressive, Ormoc being one of the amazing comeback stories after being hit by a devastating flash flood which claimed thousands of lives in 1991. It has since risen to become one of the most important and high-profile cities in Region 8.

The town right after Ormoc northwards is little-known Kananga. Mayor Elmer says that whenever he is asked where his town is, he just points to a light bulb or any electrical appliance and says "it's where you get your electricity from." Kananga is the site of the Leyte Geothermal Plant, said to provide almost 80% of the country's power needs.

The Codilla brothers vow to make the boxing spectacle " a most memorable one for all who participate. Who knows, with the vast pool of talent we have in the Visayas, the Smart/ABAP Visayas championship might just produce the first Filipino Olympic gold medalist!"