The Philippines has parachuted in two Cuban coaches in a last-ditch bid to qualify more boxers for the Beijing Olympics in August.

The head of the Philippine Sports Commission William Ramirez said yesterday they were hoping to win two of 19 slots up for grabs in the last Asian qualifying tournament in Kazakhstan next month with the help of the new coaches.

Juan Enrique Steyners Tissert and Dagoberto Rojas Scott were whisked to the country's main boxing training camp in Baguio, a northern mountain resort city, on Thursday, a day after arriving in the Southeast Asian country.

"We brought them immediately to the battlefield, to the firing line to work," Ramirez told Reuters.

The Philippines, considered a regional boxing powerhouse and home to WBC super featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao, is mortified that only Harry Tanamor has so far qualified for Beijing despite Manila sending a team of promising hopefuls to a qualifier in Thailand last month.

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