Daet, Camarines Norte— Defending champion George Oconer and his teammates at Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance found a chance to bounce back, while Excellent Noodles’ Jan Paul Morales kept a tight grip on the red jersey in the wet 179.8-km Stage 4 of the 11th LBC Ronda Pilipinas at the Provincial Capitol here Sunday.
The 29-year-old Oconer, the Navymen’s skipper, arrived at the crowded finish line in front of the Daet Provincial Capitol with Excellent Noodles’ Mervin Corpuz on his tail in four hours, 10 minutes and 12 seconds.
Oconer started breaking away with a 12-man group after teammate Ronald Oranza also made his presence felt and ruled the King of the Mountain stage in Sipocot, some 18.1 kilometers to the finish line.
DReyna rider Arjay Peralta took third, two seconds behind Oconer and Corpuz, after he joined a 10-man pack in pursuit of the pair.
Using his familiarity of the route, Oconer kept a steady pace in the last five kilometers of the race, after he and Corpuz left the final group that was trying to catch up with them.
“Pakiramdam ko, kundisyon ako. Gagawin ko ang lahat, hanggang sa matapos,” said Oconer as he prepares for longer distances in the next five stages.
His Navymen teammates El Joshua Peralta and Ronald Oranza landed fourth and fifth, and their efforts pushed the squad ahead of Excellent Noodles for the team stage honors.
Morales, who helped keep Excellent Noodles on top of the general team standings, landed sixth, some 26 seconds behind Oconer.
The 36-year-old Morales is still ahead in the race for the overall individual honors, but Corpuz has cut his lead, as he is now 20 seconds behind.
Morales’ teammate Ryan Tugawin is third 38 seconds back, while Oranza is far behind by two minutes and 15 seconds.
Navymen coach Reinhart Gorrantes said the rainy weather gave them a chance to make up for their unimpressive showings in the three previous stages.
“Pumabor ang pagkakataon. Hindi namin ine-expect ito. Pero, talagang pinagtrabahuhan namin ito,” said Gorrantes.
The Navymen saw action without one of their climbing specialists in Junrey Navarra, who fell ill and dropped out midway in Stage 3.
Gorrantes said Navarra, who is recovering from tuberculosis, will be back in action soon.
Excellent Noodles’ captain and two-time Ronda king Santy Barnachea, slipped from No. 4 to no. 5 with an overall time of 9:44:52.
