Petecio raps Taiwanese; Aparri sees action next

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia – Nesthy Petecio used her speed and power to demolish Taiwanese Yuan Hu, 12-3, and kick off the Philippines’ campaign in the sixth Asian Women’s Boxing Championships here Monday.

Petecio, 19, turned on the heat early with head and body while jarring her game rival with solid uppercuts. The Davao find closed out the first round at 3-0, padded her lead to 7-1 after two rounds then scored five more points while allowing Hu a hit for the final count.

It was an inspiring start for the three-lady ABAP-PLDT squad although Petecio will have her hands full against a formidable rival in the second round Wednesday.

“We’re very happy with Nesthy’s performance. But she will face a tougher opponent in the second round of the preliminaries. She goes up against Un Jong Choe of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North),” said ABAP executive director and head of delegation Ed Picson.

Colorful opening ceremonies marked the first day of competitions in freezing cold weather. Temperature Monday was at -15C in the daytime, according to Picson.

ABAP president Ricky Vargas had made sure all team members were issued winter clothing and accessories and this “was much appreciated and utilized by everyone.”

Meanwhile, veteran Alice Kate Aparri of Baguio, a three-time SEA Games gold medalist and two-time bronze winner in the World Championships (New Delhi, 2006 and Barbados, 2010), faces another boxer from Chinese-taipei, Meng-chieh Pin Tuesday.

The third member of the PLDT-ABAP team, Josie Gabuco, drew a bye and will see action Wednesday against China’s Yukie Luo.

The Philippine delegation includes national head coach Pat Gaspi and women’s coaches Mitchel Martinez and Violito Payla. Asian Women’s Commission member Karina Picson is one of the international technical officials (ITO’S) overseeing the event. She was appointed to the tournament by ASBC (Asian Boxing Confederation) president Gofur Rakhimov.