Ever since the Philippines won a silver medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, courtesy of boxing, it has been struggling in its quest for a first-ever gold medal in any sport for that matter. Boxing has been touted as one of the sports that show the most promise of achieving this elusive dream for the country, but it has not lived up to expectation. In the Olympics qualifying contests held in Thailand and Kazakhstan, only Harry Tañamor emerged as the “lone golden hope” in the coming 2008 Beijing Olympics.

I believe the three suggestions below will be a sensible formula for winning our first gold medal even with only Tañamor as our bet in the most popular sport in the country today.

1. Appoint Manny Pacquiao as a major sponsor for Harry.

2. Hire Freddie Roach as trainer.

3. Train Tañamor the way Roach trained Manny Pacquiao in the United States.

There’s still plenty of time for training before the Olympics begin in August this year. This is a “win-win” chance for the country and especially for Pacquiao. It could be his best legacy to the country and the sport he truly loves. For Pacquiao and the whole country, an Olympic gold medal would be as priceless as his recently acquired fourth world title. And it would be worth more than any of his epic fights with the Mexican warriors and future fights in higher divisions.

JEROME L. ESCOBEDO (via email)