Barbas cousins dominate Carcar Downhill tourney

CEBU, Philippines - JR Barba of Dumaguete City proved why he is the country's downhill king after dominating the premiere men's open division of the 2016 Carcar Downhill Challenge last Sunday.

As recorded by the Philippines Extreme Sports Scoring System, Barba negotiated the close to 2.5-kilometer track in just three minutes and 2.31 seconds.

JR's counsin Joey Barba of Outbreak and Groundzero finished second with a time of 3:06.07.

Oz Racing's Dongkey Sanchez prevented a clean sweep by the Barbas after he outsmarted Wendel Barba for the third spot in 3:11.70. Wendel clocked in 3:15.00.

Rounding up the top 10 finishers were Dave Chiong of V12 Radgear (3:18.90), Christopher Leo Voss of Guimaras (3:21.86), Outbreak's Galvin Galan (3:22.43) and Cyril Bayawa (3:34.66), OzRacing's Maximo Villarta (3:34.69) and Wakaboys' Carlmil Oliveros (3:46.76)

On the other hand, Jonathan Verga topped the idols category with a time of 3:25.88 followed by Fulvio Narciso (3:26.17) of V12Radgear and CBMB's Ramon Quijano (3:35.45).

Team Alkoholik Zamboanga had a 1-2 finish in the intermediate division behind the efforts of Rubiemar Vedua (3:13.96) and Ron Boleng  (3:14.34) as Team Barba's Robert Lou Dizon ended third in 3:18.697.

Lea Denise Belgira of Guimaras made her presence felt after lording over the feminino class in 4:07.87. The next two spots were occupied by Team Taokas' Liza Fay Viemes (4:39.32) and Safety First's Hanna Bun (4:47.36).

In the hardtail competition, Nover Bucao of the JN Trailbangers bested 20 other entries to claim the title in 3:23.52. STR's Julius Diez wound up second in 3:30.340 followed by Nick Angelo Velasco with a 3:33.05 clocking. (FREEMAN)