Kenyan rules in CamSur: Naibei makes long trip to Pili worth it; Panique shines
PILI, Camarines Sur—Nathan Naibei took a 25-hour flight just to get to the Philippines a few days ago, then sat in a bus for another nine hours from Manila to this sports tourism hub in the Bicol region.
He made the long trip worth it Sunday.
With a fluid stride, the 24-year-old Naibei completed a wire-to-wire win in the men’s 42K event of the 2011 Summit Water Camarines Sur Marathon that lured a record field at the Camarines Watersports Complex.
A businessman in his hometown of Eladoret in western Kenya, Naibei clocked two hours, 25 minutes and 14 seconds to claim the top prize of P125,000 in only his first full marathon in the Philippines.
“I didn’t know what to expect, so I just maintained my pace,” said Naibei, a father of two, who broke away from the lead pack at the 29 km mark of the flat course.
“The course was very smooth. It was dark in the early part of the race but there were a lot of people cheering for us.”
Eric Panique, representing Antipolo, Rizal, picked up the same prize for emerging as the fastest local finisher with a time of 2:28:03—second best overall.
It marked the first time that the organizers, led by Camarines Sur Gov. L-Ray Villafuerte, gave the same prize to the elite category champion and the best local runner in both the men’s and women’s divisions of the 42K race which was flagged off at 4 a.m.
Slowly but surely establishing himself as one of the country’s elite runners, Panique is hoping his performance can still earn him a slot in the Southeast Asian Games.
“I hope I get noticed with my performance,” said the 25-year-old Panique, who took running seriously six years ago starting with 21K trail runs in his hometown of Himamaylan, Negros Occidental.
Panique bested the likes of Mendel Lopez (2:34:11) and three-time Milo Marathon king Cresenciano Sabal (2:35:03) in the race where runners who clocked 3:15.00 and faster qualified for the prestigious Boston Marathon.
Kenyan Rose Jepkembol Chesire the elite women’s race in 2:50:26 followed by home province bets Ailene Tolentino in 3:12:39 and Cynthia Jaro in 3:20:17.
They also pocketed P125,000, P90,000 and P50,000, respectively, for their feats.
Another national team aspirant, Mary Grace delos Santos, submitted the second-best time of 2:59:53 that was enough for her to wrest the top prize for local bets.
Coming in second was Monalisa Ambasa (3:15:17), while third was Miscelle Gilbuena (3:31:27).
Villafuerte announced that a record field of about 21,000 runners took part in the five races.
Mikael Kahsay of Ethiopia reigned supreme in the men’s 21K event in 1:10:57 followed by Kenya’s Benjamin Kipkazi (1:11:34) and Kering Eluid (1:11:49), while Genet Agtew, also of Ethiopia, topped the women’s race in 1:22:22.
Local girl Mary Joy Tabal settled for second in 1:24:31 followed by Kenya’s Rhoda Chelrikui in 1:25:10.
Other results: 21K (Local Men)—Brian Lupio (1:15:54), Gerald Sabal (1:16:02), Alquin Bolivar (1:16:14); 21K (Local Women)—Flordeliz Donos (1:26:57), Luisa Raterta (1:30:12), Maricel Maquilan (1:36:02).
Knights duel Altas, try to regain solo 2nd spot
By Cedelf P. Tupas
LETRAN tries to regain solo second place when it squares off with an already-eliminated Perpetual Help squad today in the 87th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Knights, on an eight-game winning run, shoot for their 13th win in 15 outings against the Altas at 11:45 a.m.
Final Four contender Mapua hopes to end an alarming three-game slide against Emilio Aguinaldo College at 4 p.m.
The Cardinals looked headed to nailing the last postseason berth before getting mired in a slump that included losses to powerhouse squads San Sebastian and San Beda.
Still Mapua remains in the thick of the fight for the last Final Four spot and a win against the Generals will give the Cardinals a share of fourth with Jose Rizal U.
The Knights are looking to sustain their fiery form as they prepare for key clashes against the Lions and the Stags in the next two weeks.
Despite their woeful 3-13 card, the Altas showed plenty of fight, losing close matches to teams like JRU and San Sebastian.
“We cannot take them (Altas) lightly especially now that they have nothing to lose,” said Letran coach Louie Alas.
The Knights will have Jam Cortes back after the power forward was suspended in the previous game for incurring three flagrant fouls this season.
Letran will be pinning its hope anew on playmaker Kevin Alas, who continued his brilliant form with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the 80-58 drubbing of the Generals last Wednesday.
A Final Four berth has remained elusive for the Generals (4-11). EAC has yet to reach the stage since joining the league two seasons ago.
Mapua will be trying to bounce back from a 59-76 loss to San Beda.
