Giving them a break

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

I WAS surprised to learn that the province of Zambales has an abundant number of cyclists just like here in Pangasinan. I found that out during the 2nd Jun Ebdane Cup Tour of Zambales held last December 30, participated in by 76 riders and majority of the contestants (85 percent) were from the host province. The rest were from neighboring places like Pangasinan, Bataan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and Manila.

Luckily and surprisingly, our local riders from San Manuel scored a 1-2-3 finish that stunned the huge crowd (including this writer) at the finish line in Candelaria, the hometown of former PNP chief and former DND and DPWH secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., the organizer and sponsor of the event. (See related story on this page)

It was the first time in Zambales’s bicycle road racing history, for non-Zambaleños to win in a local race, according to my two new friends Albert Poore and Arnel Sanchez, both from Olongapo City and well-known and respected cycling leaders in Zambales. Both said their province has around 150 active cyclists, including the executive riders. Majority is young, ranging from 15 to 25 years old and very competitive.  And that’s exactly what I observed during the one-day road battle.

Our cycling history shows Zambales has never produced a national cycling champ, neither in amateur or professional racings. But it already produced Tour campaigners like little-known Talde, Alumpe and Roque (sorry, I forgot their first names). These three also almost won some Marlboro Tour stage laurels. Their failures, I believe, is due to the fact that it’s not their favorite sport, they were not skillfully trained and, most of all, they lacked national exposures because the province has been short of cycling patrons to organize and sponsor some races to sharpen their skills.

But now they have Ebdane, a sports fanatic who loves cycling very much, who can help them build their talents by sponsoring cycling competitions in Zambales. Ebdane’s main objective in staging the December 30 race was precisely to give them a break and help hone their skills in the hope that Zambales will manage to produce national champions and eventually bring them to international cycling level.

“I believe that not too far from now our local riders can do what other provinces can achieve,” Ebdane said. “Our local boys need some races in the province to gain more experience that they can bank on for bigger competitions and December 30 was just the beginning. More races to come and I believe we could reach our goal,” he added.

Ebdane and Subic town chief executive Jeff Khonghun flagged off the 76 participants. Riding his vehicle, he followed the riders up to Botolan and saw for himself how the local boys pushed their pedals against the giants in Philippine amateur cycling. He did not get to watch the whole race because it was his birthday on that day and was in a hurry to return to his birthplace (Candelaria) where many well-wishers were waiting for him. Despite watching only half of the 154-kilometer distance of the well-paved trek, he said he already learned a lot about cycling and observed the potential of the local riders.

Ebdane is now contemplating on staging another race on February 28 in San Marcelino, in conjunction with the celebration of the town’s fiesta. According to Poore and Sanchez who were asked to organize the event, the February 28 tilt will be a ‘circuit race’ within the loop of San Marcelino, San Antonio and San Narciso towns, with a distance of 24 kilometers each loop and to be run in three categories: class A (age 29-under), class B (age 30-49) and class C (50 years old and above). The two are planning on how many loops will be run in every category.

The two buddies also said that as early as now, preparations are already in progress and that the San Marcelino townspeople and officials are very pleased to know that their municipality will play as host in this sporting event.

Yes, Ebdane is giving the Zambales cyclists another big break, specifically to the Ilocano speaking folk of San Marcelino.  You may not know it but San Marcelino already produced one famous professional basketball player in the person of Willie Miller of Alaska. I believe the February 28 race could be the beginning. Ebdane is giving them a break and I think it will bear fruit in the end.

As the famous sports cliché goes, “champions are not born, they’re made.” Nobody could dispute that. Amen.

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