SINGAPORE SEA GAMES: The Medal Mine that is the Philippine Boxing Team

It's the 11th day of the Singapore SEA Games and the Philippines' medal tally stands at 7 golds, 10 silvers and 20 bronzes. The prediction of the Philippine Olympic Committee was 50 golds, a tall task with just 8 days left in the Games.

But the upcoming days are chock full of gold medal matches, so there is still hope. Especially if the members of the Philippine National Boxing Team live up to their billing.


So far, the team has been going great guns, sending 8 boxers into the finals. Junel Cantancio, Mario Fernandez, Ian Clark Bautista, Eumir Marcial, Rogen Ladon, Josie Gabuco, Irish Magno, and Nesthy Petecio are all good bets to strike gold and start a gold rush for the Philippine contingent.

Of them all, Cantancio, Bautista and Gabuco seem to be the surest bets to win. Of course, there's no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to sports so they'll have to give their best to fulfill their golden potential.

Two other boxers, Wilfredo Lopez and Riza Pasuit, have already fallen by the wayside but have still earned bronze medals for the country.


Now, if these eight boxers all win gold medals, it will be one of the largest, if not THE largest, medal haul we'll see at these Games or any other Games.