PUERTO PRINCESA? Something strange and very harmful happened after Bout No. 143 of the Smart-Abap National Open Boxing Championships semifinals at the City Coliseum here on Thursday.

A frustrated coach from the Kabaka National Capital Region team claimed his son was declared loser in a bout the talented kid had clearly won on points.

Strong-faced Jun Altarejos minced no words in claiming that his son Gabriel, gold medalist in the NCR bantamweight qualifying competitions last year, was cheated after fighting a lot sharper and better than Kiven James Gob of Tayabas City, whose hand was raised by the referee after the final bell.

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Altarejos could not find a sane explanation.

?In fact, the coach of Gob, Jake Magliquian, came over to us and said that Gabriel should?ve won on points,? Altarejos complained to the Inquirer.

OK, to ward off the depression, Altarejos and his son, together with another coach and two other boxers, hied off to the famous Inan-aw White Beach, about 15 minutes by tricycle from their school-house quarters here.

They readily found solace in the pristine sea waters and the quiet shores.

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This was shortly after 10 in the bright, sunny morning.

The group, out to mend broken spirits, was wading into the deeper portion when Altarejos spotted your reporter here.

?You look like ? of the Inquirer,? the NCR coach quipped.

He received a smile and a nod.

?We just want to seek some explanation, sir, mainly from a reporter like you,? he opened up.

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Altarejos then poured his heart out.

It was not a mere explanation he was asking. The poor fellow wanted to seek justice.

?In the first place, how can they discover future internationalists if losers are declared winners?? he argued.

But this was supposed to be an improvement from the old Abap leagues, he was assured.

?I understand, but it?s not as fair and good as reported in the papers.?

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Well, for the record, the first three days of the tournament in 10 different classes among boxers aged 11 to 18 went smoothly.

But come the semifinals on Thursday, the spotty portions surfaced.

In Bout 102 in the kiddie weight (26 kg), Richard Rama of Mandaue City eked out a masterful dominance of Ian Ian Fabia of Puerto Princesa Team B.

Neutral coaches at ringside, including those from Baguio and Misamis Oriental, however, howled when the beaten Fabia emerged winner on points.

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Sharp and talented Ven Joshua Van Guardia came to this reporter half an hour after he was declared loser, 2-3, versus Romel Tunacao of Mandaue City.

He wanted to thank us for assuring him that he did quite well.

Actually, the poor kid did not lose.

His bout with Tunacao ended up with a 17-all score.

A routine countback was required, although this was not announced.

Unfortunately, the boxers and everybody else in the coliseum were left to wonder indefinitely as it took the jury a lifetime before finally coming up with the official result, 3-2, based on the cumulative scores of the five judges.

Young Van Guardia had every reason to suspect there had been a lutong macao.

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Well, as Altarejos tried to philosophize, there?s nothing truly wrong with errors?as long as they are honest mistakes.

He was right; things cannot be readily perfected, considering that the new order in the Abap is just starting to recover from an old, rotten system.

But what?s truly harmful, explained the frustrated father-coach, is that this kind of cheap foulness never fails to break the spirit.