50. Welterweight Boxer MANFREDO ALIPALA, Lone Gold at the 1962 Jakarta Asiad

The 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta were the first to be held in the new 1960s decade from Aug. 24 to Sep. 4, 1962. Even with Japan wresting the boxing championship from the Philippines  in the last 1958 Tokyo Games, hopes were fresh for the 6 young Filipino boxers to deliver more medals.

Leading the charge was a Far Eastern University standout student boxer, MANFREDO Panes ALIPALA (b.  25 Oct. 1938) of Murcia, Negros Occidental, son of Moises Alipala, the municipal chief of police, and Consuelo Panes, school principal of Murcia Elementary School.

“Noning”, as he was called, grew up in Bacolod, and attended the West Negros College. He then went to Manila to pursue his higher education at the Far Eastern University, to take up a Business Administration course. The university was known for its excellent amateur boxing program so the athletic freshman joined the team and proved to be an excellent student, amassing wins in major interscholastic meets.

This led to Manfredo being sent as the FEU entry to the national open boxing championship. The 5’8” student athlete ruled his welterweight class (67 kg.) , which gave him a slot in the Philippine boxing team that went to Indonesia for the 1962 Asiad.

The boxing matches were held at the the Senayan Tennis Stadium in the last weeks of August. Alipala breezed through the rounds of 16, then made it to the  quarterfinals, and all the way to the semifinals.

Now, the only boxer standing in the way of a Gold Medal was the formidable Japanese opponent, Kichijiro Hamada, 4 years his junior and inches taller. But the tough Alipala held his ground and, at the end of the 3 rounds, was announced as the winner. He had secured the one and only boxing Gold for the Philippines in the 1962 Jakarta Games—one of only 7 that year--with the Silver going to Hamadas, and the Bronze, shared by Korea’s Choi Song-keun with Singto Jamjitman of Thailand.

 Incidentally, three team mates, bantamweight Jose Ramirez, featherweight Egino Grafia and lightweight Catalino Arpon contributed 3 Bronze Medals to the Philippine harvest.

Two years later, Manfred Alipala was at the head of the Philippine Olympic delegation proudly bearing the  country’s flag during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics parade of nations at the opening ceremonies. Joining him in the boxing campaign were Dominador Calumarde (flyweight), Arnulfo Torrevillas (bantamweight), Anthony Villanueva (featherweight), Rodolfo Arpon (lightweight), and Felix Ocampo (light-middleweight), with their able coach, Celestino “Aling” Enriquez.

 When the boxing preliminary matches commenced, Alipala subdued Iraq’s Al-Kharki Khalid. In the round of 16, he suffered a surprise defeat in the hands of Kichijiro Hamada, the same boxer whom he had conquered in Jakarta 2 years earlier. Despite this setback,  Anthony Villanueva saved the day for the boxers by winning a historic Silver.

A year after the Olympics, Alipala turned pro, fighting matches against Filipino boxing greats like  Eduardo Canete, Fil Ravalo and Phil Robinson. In the late 60s, he chased Oriental and World titles in the welterweight and middleweight class against boxers in the region like Korea’s Ki-Soo Kim and Hawaii’s Takeshi Fujii. He finished his professional career with a modest record of 3 Wins (1 by a knockout) and 8 losses.

About his personal life, Alipala was first married to Corazon N. Villanueva (d.2012), sister of Olympic silver medalist Anthony Villanueva, and his 1964 Tokyo team mate. Together, they had 4 children: Mariela, Manfriela, Manfredo Jr, and Mancor Alipala. After the couple's separation, he married Sebastiana Taguines and moved to Tarlac. This union produced Manbie, Marinette and Mylove Alipala.

Post-Olympics, Alipala held a few security jobs to provide for his growing family. After retirement, Alipala was taken in by the Philippine Sports Commission under chairman Mel Lopez, as a consultant. He and his family settled in barangay San Roque, in Tarlac City, Tarlac.

“My father lived a simple life, and  shied away from the limelight”, recalls daughter Manfriela.  “He was a nice person to everyone, especially to his friends in Bacolod.” At age 68,  boxing great Manfredo Alipala quietly died in his sleep, 8 Oct. 2006, and was interred at the Garden of Peace Memorial Park in nearby barangay Sapang Maragul.

SOURCES:

Information and pictures, courtesy of Manfriela Junet Alipala, daughter of Manfredo Alipala.

Alipala, Asiad gold medalist, dies at 68.(Sports News)(Obituary)Manila Bulletin, October 19, 2006 | Copyright

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfredo_Alipala

49. Partner-Perfect: PATRICIA B. INGAYO, All-Around Tennis Ace (active mid 1950s-1971)

The versatile tennis player PATRICIA Bengson INGAYO (b. 14 Apr. 1937/d.11 Jul. 2013) possessed such depth of skills that allowed her to play and win medals in Singles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles and Team events. At the peak of her performance, she medalled consecutively in 3 Asian Games campaigns in all tennis events, and figured in the finals of several editions of the Philippines Open International Championships, founded in 1918 (later known as PHILTA International Championships).

Patricia Yngayo was born in Ermita, Manila,  the daughter of Lope Yngayo, and his wife, Salud G. Bengson who were married on 9 Jan 1935. Originally from Cebu, Yngayo went to the University of the Philippines and played school tennis. He became a national and Metropolitan tennis champion who played in the Davis Cup with Guillermo Aragon against Austria in May 1928. He later became a coach and trained the Philippine Davis Cup team. Lope Yngayo was certainly an influence for Patricia to take up the sports of tennis, and her early competitions revolved around tennis tournaments organized by community clubs.

1958 was the turning point of Yngayo’s tennis career when, in the finals of the Philippine International Open Tennis Championships, she barged into the Women’s Single’s event and placed second to the great Desideria Ampon—who would be, for the next years, her one and only greatest rival. In the next years --1959, 1960, 1966, 1969, 1971—Ampon would relegate Yngayo to a runner-up finish, except in 1970 where American Ceci Martinez beat her in the finals. Yngayo never won the top women’s singles title in this Manila-based tournament.

Yngayo and Ampon were named as the Philippine delegates to the women’s tennis competition at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan. She and Ampon made it to the Women’s Doubles---and bagged the Silver, won by Japan’s  Sachiko Kamo and Reiko Miyagi. In the Mixed Doubles, she and partner Miguel Dungo reached the finals and claimed the Silver medal. It was in the Doubles Events that Yngayo was most successful in the Asian Games, winning medals in succession in Tokyo, Jakarta and Bangkok through her perfect partnership with Desi Ampon.

In the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, Yngayo finally annexed an individual medal to her collection, winning Bronze in the Women’s Singles, shared with compatriot Desi Ampon, after 2 Japanese—Akiko Fukui and Reiko Miyagi—who won Gold and Silver, respectively.  The Yngayo-Ampon tandem were also triumphant in the Women’s Doubles and the Team Event, taking home the Bronze.

Her final 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand yielded 2 precious Silvers in the Women’s Doubles (with Desi Ampon) and Mixed Doubles (with Federico Deyro), and Bronze in the Women’s Team. In all, Yngayo—in tandem with Ampon, Dungo and Deyro—amassed 8 medals—4 Silvers and 3 Bronzes in the quadrennial games. Add to that her individual Bronze in the Women’s Singles—and that makes her the most productive Filipina tennis player in the Asian Games to date.

The bemedalled Patricia Yngayo may not have won an individual tennis title or an individual tennis gold in her lifetime, but as they say, victory is not just about coming home with Golds. It is also about coming back stronger, rebounding with resilience in the relentless pursuit of excellence. In her competitive years, Yngayo demonstrated all that, and more—proving her status as one of the few all-around women tennisters of the country. The accomplished tennis ace passed away at age 76, after a lingering illness.

SOURCES:

The Philippine Athlete, official publication of the P.A.A.F. October issue

Photo of Patricia Yngayo: Chino Trinidad + FB page

Lope Yngayo: https://mail.db4tennis.com/players/male/lope-yngayo

Asian Games Tennis medal winners Tokyo1958

 https://www.olympiandatabase.com/index.php?id=318659&L=1

Tennis at the 1962 Asian Games, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_at_the_1962_Asian_Games

Philippines at the 1966 Asian Games, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines_at_the_1966_Asian_Games

Photos of Miguel Dungo, Federico Deyro: https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LCXZ-18F/federico-deyro-1928-2006

48. EDGARDO “ED” L. OCAMPO: From Mr. Football to Mr. Basketball and Three Olympics

The country’s no. 1 sports—basketball—has produced outstanding hardcourt heroes from Pampanga through the years—names like Gerry Cruz, Hector Calma, Ato Agustin, Ponciano Saldana, Jojo Duncil come to mind. But one young Kapampangan stands out for being a legend in his own time, winning honors for the Philippines and for himself in not one, but two sports—football and basketball. It is in the latter discipline that he came to international prominence, earning the title of “Mr. Basketball of 1960” at age 22. His name: Edgardo L. Ocampo.

EDGARDO or "Ed" Luciano OCAMPO, born on 5 October 1938, was one of four children of the “father of modern Philippine Architecture”, the acclaimed Fernando Hizon Ocampo (San Fernando) and the renown Pampanga beauty, Lourdes Magdangal Luciano (Magalang). His siblings included Fernando Jr., also an architect, Oscar, his football team mate at Ateneo and sister Maria Pilar.

Basketball and football caught the young Ocampo’s fancy almost at the same time while enrolled at the Ateneo Grade School. He tried out for the school’s midget basketball team but did not pass the height requirement. Instead, he made it to the football squad where his brilliance in the field became much apparent. By age 17, Ed was acclaimed by sportswriters as “Mr. Football”. Ed qualified for the Philippine National Football team that toured Korea and Spain in 1956.

But in that same year, Ed broke his clavicle during a rough game, promoting doctors to advise him to take off from the sports for half a year. But even before those six months were up, Ed was back in school, joining the basketball tryout for the school’s NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) team. This time, he made it after several Blue Eagles dropped out from the squad. Ed first played in the second round of the 1957 NCAA series.

At 5 feet 9 inches with a stocky built, Ed was certainly not considered tall enough in the sports where “height is might”. But his stamina,power, speed and quick reflexes made him the man to watch on the court. He managed to captain the Blue Eagles to two NCAA championships in 1957 and 1958.

One of his most memorable stints as a basketball collegian was when the Blue Eagles played against the tough Keh Nan team from China in the World Boy Scouts Jamboree benefit at the Rizal Coliseum. The Chinese dribblers were stunned when they saw Ocampo bounce his chest on the floor, intercept a pass and score on the same play. Six thousand roaring fans rose to their feet to give him a standing ovation.

Ed was recruited by YCO where he played as a guard, becoming a key figure in the team’s 1960 victory in the MICAA (Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association), the top basketball league in the 60s. It was Ed who limited Narciso Bernardo of Ysmael Steel—then considered as the country’s best forward—to just 9 measly points in a critical game. For his performance, he was dubbed as “Mr. Basketball” in 1960.

At the peak of his career, young Ocampo was a member of the national basketball team 4 times, played in the world championship in Chile, competed in the Asian Basketball Conference and competed in 3 Olympics (1960-1968-1972). At the 1960 Olympiad in Rome, the Philippines placed a creditable 11th place. Newspaper accounts glowed at how “Ocampo played magnificently, with brilliant reprising and rebounding”.

What has also earned his fans’ admiration is his sportsmanship on and off court. Not even once in any game did he figure in a brawl. That is a feat in itself considering the nature of the fast and furious game. When his playing years ended, he turned to coaching, guiding the San Miguel Beermen, the Toyota Tamaraws and the Pepsi Bottlers of the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association). As coach, he led his teams to 4 championships.

Ed Ocampo was married to the former Maria Lourdes Trinidad. Pampanga’s basketball legend and Hall of Famer passed away on 29 July 1999 at age 54. He was inducted into the Ateneo Hall of Fame (1982), National Basketball Hall of Fame (1999), and the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Hall of Fame in 2013.

SOURCES:

Iron Man of Basketball, The Sunday Times Magazine, Vol. XVI No. 23, 15 Jan. 1961

Ed Ocampos' Views on Shackling Shin. The Sunday Times Magazine, 4 Dec. 1970, p. 37

Edgardo L. Ocampo:Basketball Olympian. Views from the Pampang. https://viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com/2010/12/227-edgardo-ed-l-ocampo-basketball.html

Eduardo Ocampo. Legends and Heroes of Philippine Basketball. By Christian Bocobo and Beth Celis. p. 110

The Greatest Basketball Team Ever? istoryadista.net. https://www.istoryadista.net/2012/09/the-greatest-philippine-basketball-team.html