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. 16 boxers 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, he 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.
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 married to Corazon N. Villanueva, 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 death of his first wife, 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 fend 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
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