The Fab Five of the PLDT-ABAP national youth team are raring to rumble with the best of Asia two days before hostilities break out in the 2013 ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships at the Subic gym in this coastal municipality of Zambales.
James Palicte (60 kgs), Jade Bornea (49 kgs.), Ian Clark Bautista (52 kgs), Jonas Bacho (56 kgs), and Eumir Felix Marcial (64 kgs) will carry the colors for the Philippines in the tournament backed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, PLDT, Smart, NLEX, Maynilad, Clarktel, Subictel, Department of Tourism, Tourism Promotions Board, Videogear Inc., Exile Lights and Sound, Philippine Olympic Committee, and the Philippine Sports Commission.
Twenty-six countries, including China, the Middle Eastern bloc, and satellites of the former Soviet Republic, are sending the future of their respective national teams, 17-18 year-old boxers who are expected to make their mark in the tourney prior to the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.