Photo courtesy of Bago City Information Office
Bago City is preparing to expand its role in Philippine boxing with a regional center designed to train athletes while developing coaches and technical officials.
The project is targeted for launch in October through a partnership among the city government, Philippine Sports Commission and Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines.
ABAP officials recently met with Mayor Marina Javellana-Yao to map out the programs that could be offered at the center and discuss improvements to facilities needed for training and competitions.
ABAP president Marcus Manalo said the initiative would go beyond preparing fighters for tournaments. Plans include educational and development programs for coaches and officials involved in staging and supervising boxing competitions.
The program would also provide ABAP with an opportunity to resume the accreditation of coaches and technical officials, an activity that association secretary general Sebastian Ripoll said had not been conducted for some time.
Bago City has a long association with Philippine amateur boxing and has produced athletes who represented the country at the Olympics, Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games.
Among its most prominent boxers are brothers Roel Velasco and Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco Jr. Roel earned the Philippines a bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, while Onyok captured silver at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The planned agreement will define the responsibilities of Bago City, the PSC and ABAP as they work to establish the center as a regional base for identifying and developing the next generation of Filipino boxing talent.
