Team Lakay’s Mark Sangiao is a certified kingmaker.
The soft-spoken head coach has developed four mixed martial arts World Champions in ONE Championship, but he recently struck gold in kickboxing too.
Sangiao’s top students – ONE women’s atomweight star Gina “Conviction” Iniong, ONE Warrior Series mainstay Jerry “The Bokodian Warrior” Olsim, and Jean Claude Saclag – all took home gold medals for kickboxing in the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games.
His success all boils down to a simple philosophy – teamwork.
“This isn’t about one person, it’s not about them and it’s not about me, it’s the byproduct of the hard work of our team,” Sangiao said.
“They were really focused, and we were with them for about a month and a half. That’s one of the reasons why we did well.”
Watching the Team Lakay trio compete live were the stars of ONE Championship, ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “Passion” Pacio, former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, and ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix finalist Danny “The King’ Kingad.
Seeing those gold medalists pose with his ONE World Champions certainly makes Sangiao proud, but he does not take all the credit.
“I’m just working with the right people. The people that I am teaching are very disciplined and determined.”
Their conquest in kickboxing at the SEA Games only gives Team Lakay more confidence that they are on the right track, especially after an up-and-down year in ONE Championship.
By 2020, expect an even fiercer Team Lakay.
“We’re always positive. We always want to do our part every time and the result is a proof that we’re doing the right things.”
The Home Of Martial Arts returns to action on 10 January for ONE: A NEW TOMORROW at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
Catch all the action live and for free on the ONE Super App.