The iconic Baguio Athletic Bowl is one of the city’s most famous sites, but for Team Lakay, it has been the annex of its training facility since the stable’s inception in 2003.
From past to present, each member has spent countless hours on the tracks of the seven-hectare sports complex, doing various high-intensity running exercises to nurture the group’s seemingly infinite reservoir of stamina inside the cage.
Tapped to do the artwork is none other than Team Lakay’s very own Harold Banario, a bantamweight competitor in BRAVE Combat Federation with a professional record of 5-2. He is also the younger brother of former featherweight world titleholder Honorio Banario. His inclination to painting got much deeper when he suffered his first career defeat in June 2015, using it as a coping mechanism and an outlet for self-expression.
Sangiao was the brain behind the mural’s concept, but the headmaster gave Banario the freedom to incorporate his artistic take. Stephen Loman, the BRAVE CF bantamweight champion and one of the eight individuals in the painting, has nothing but good words to commend the artistry of his teammate.