Oranza virtual Tour champion

TAGAYTAY CITY—Ronald Oranza of Navy-Standard Insurance conquered the climbs dotting the road between Cavite and Batangas to end up second behind teammate Jan Paul Morales in stage nine Thursday and virtually bag the overall title in the Ronda Pilipinas 2018 presented by LBC.

Oranza, 25, checked in behind Morales, 32, as the two clocked five hours and 47.13 minutes to seal his first ever Ronda title and the cool P1-million cash purse that goes with it.

After nine stages and with still three left, Oranza has collected an aggregate time of 26:49:04, a whopping 6.52 minutes ahead of distant second Morales (26:55:56).

“I’m happy to finish second behind a teammate, I think his time has come,” said Morales in Filipino.

Oranza, however, remained adamant that he will celebrate only when the race is finished.

“If it’s me, I will consider it a blessing. But we still have three stages to go and a race to finish so I have nothing to really celebrate,” said Oranza.

It was an impressive effort for both Morales and Oranza as they dominated what race officials consider as a “killer stage” after negotiating mountain passes in Kaybiang Tunnel that connects Ternate, Cavite, and Nasugbu, Batangas, and Leynes in Talisay.