"on a shoestring"

Out of 11 delegates, 10 young boxers from Tayabas, Quezon went into the Finals of the Batang Pinoy Games Southern Luzon leg. Only Bicol had won against them. All the 10 fighters beat their opponents with overwhelming scores.

Makes me think how they are able to do that kind of feat?

After some questionings, I learned that Tayabas is blessed with trainers who are former Olympian boxers- Isidro and Virgilio Vicera.

Their younger brother, Victor Vicera, with the full support of Vice Mayor Brando Rea started training young talents since 2006. Now, his two brothers Gabriel and Jimboy are continuing the training camp.

I learned that Tayabas built their training camp and quarters. The young talents are given scholarships and allowance in school. Their parents even encouraged them to join the boxing team because its a big help for them in providing education for their kids. Right now, they have 25 boxers under training, 6 of them girls.

Tayabas Boxing Team

The kids shared their usual day while on training. By 4:00am we are already awake, ready to run at 4:30am and done by 5:30 so we can prepare for school. After school about 4:30pm, we train again- sparring and pairing. We do this everyday except on Sundays when we have our off day. This is the time when we go back home. With that daily training, I have no doubts that these kids will win golds for the Philippines someday soon!

This kind of training reminds me of the Leyte Sports Academy, the first sports academy in the country that specializes in training young athletes.

Watching every bout that their boxers join, I always say to myself that they will win and my predictions are always right. The semi-finals round of boxing are won by every Tayabas fighter.

One of the boxers is Renato Alias, a 14-year old Mosquito weight category has rallied the score board with a score of 13-6 even with a tall opponent. I would call this little boy,  ”Little Pacman” because of the built of his body, his quickness in the ring and of course, he looks like Aling Dionisia’s son- Cong. Manny Pacquiao.

Renato Alias whom I like to call "The Little Pacman"

Note: Title of the post came from The Daily Tribune Article.

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Batang Pinoy Games 2011  is a grass-roots development program organized by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to identify young talents to be trained for the national pool of athletes. Mindanao leg was hosted by Zamboanga City (Oct 17-30); Visayas leg was hosted by Dumaguete City (Nov 10-13); Northern Luzon leg by Baguio City (Nov 24-27); Southern Luzon by Sta. Cruz City (Dec 4-7); NCR leg (Nov 29 – Dec 2); and the Finals will be held at Naga City on December 10-13, 2011.

Official website: Batang Pinoy 2011

Facebook Page: Batang Pinoy (PSC Grassroots Program)