NEW ABAP TEAM: OUT OF THE GATE RUNNING
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 09 Jan 2009
Cebu City ? The goal is an Olympic gold medal in boxing for the Philippines in 2012 and beyond and the new Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) management team seems to be in a hurry to accomplish the task.
The new set of officers headed by Manny Pangilinan, chairman, Ricky Vargas, president and Patrick Gregorio, secretary-general, officially took over last January 1 from the under-achiever team of Manny Lopez who came out empty-handed during the last three Olympics.
The first working day of the new year however did not start until Monday, Jan. 5. By the evening of Jan. 8, 4 days later, Ricky Vargas and 'Pato' Gregorio had already traveled hundreds of miles in the Philippines criss-crossing the archipelago to take inventory of the available talents and talking with potential supporters in the amateur and professional ranks in the cities of Baguio, Taguig, Davao and Cebu.
It helped that the new officers are also the top executives of the giant Philippine telecommunication network PLDT and Smart. The group traveled in style on a private plane to their destinations and their accommodation and schedules were being assisted by local officers of the giant communications company.
Thursday's stop in Cebu brought the team to the ALA Gym of Antonio L. Aldeguer and the Salud Gym of boxing impresario Wakee Salud and ended in a dinner with the Cebu media at the high-end Pino Restaurant in Lahug.
The group flies to Bacolod the following day before going back to Manila to prepare for the boxing activities scheduled on Jan. 16 to 24 back in Bacolod where the Smart-ABAP National Amateur Boxing Championship gets underway followed by a boxing congress.
None of the top three new officers of ABAP were previously involved in boxing but are highly successful corporate people. This could be positive or negative depending on which way you look at the equation. On a positive note, this will surely bring new blood, new perspective and new approaches to the Philippine amateur boxing program. On the negative, the new officers may stumble upon the intricacies of the sometimes sleazy and corrupt wheeling and dealing that is happening within the amateur ranks in the country and elsewhere.
?We think out of the box,? Gregorio would say. ?For example, we've been told to get wary of the promoters because they will only steal the amateurs that we develop and turn them into professionals. But we do not think like that. We think there are many areas where we can work together and help each other. At the end of the day, like every Filipino, they also want a gold medal in the Olympics and they want to see our program succeed.?
Only time will tell how successful the new team will be by taking over the reigns of the country's amateur boxing program, but from the outset, right at the opening gate, they sure are already running.
Top photo: Newly elected ABAP president Ricky Vargas (C) answers questions from Cebu media Thursday evening at Pino Restaurant in Cebu City.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Donaire back in Cebu
By Joaquin Henson, Fri, 23 Jan 2026MURATALLA VS. CRUZ IN LAS VEGAS FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Fri, 23 Jan 2026Four Pinoys in line for title shots
By Joaquin Henson, Fri, 23 Jan 2026After the meeting in Mexico City, the WBC is ready for 2026
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Fri, 23 Jan 2026Former world title challenger Jerry Belmontes Returns to ring at home after nearly a decade in Retirement on January 31 in Texas
Fri, 23 Jan 2026SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT RONNY ALVAREZ TRAINING CAMP NOTES
Thu, 22 Jan 2026STRICKLAND STUNS REYES AS SOUQUET SEALS REDEMPTION | WNT LEGENDS
Thu, 22 Jan 2026Knicks defeats Nets 120-66 to post largest margin of victory in franchise history
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Thu, 22 Jan 2026Mauricio Sulaiman: "We simply urge Zuffa Boxing to respect and protect boxing and the boxer"
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Thu, 22 Jan 2026January 31: Xander Zayas-Abass Baraou Junior Middleweight Title Unification Showdown to Stream LIVE on Top Rank Classics FAST Channel in the United States
Thu, 22 Jan 2026Mike Tyson to Launch “Mike Tyson Invitational,” a Three-Day Amateur Boxing Showcase Aimed at Elevating the Future of American Boxing
Thu, 22 Jan 2026KAIPO GALLEGOS TRAINING CAMP NOTES
Thu, 22 Jan 2026REYES AND BUSTAMANTE DELIVER HOME-SOIL MASTERCLASS | WNT LEGENDS
Wed, 21 Jan 2026Reigning World 10-ball Champion Filipino cue master Jonas Magpantay to see action in Indonesia pool tourney
By Marlon Bernardino, Wed, 21 Jan 2026OLYMPIC BOXING 7: 1936 OLYMPICS AT BERLIN, GERMANY
By Maloney L. Samaco, Wed, 21 Jan 2026