KUALA LUMPUR -- Arthus Bucay and Godfrey Taberna gave the Philippines two silver medals at the close of the cycling competition in the 9th ASEAN Para Games in Dataran Putrajaya on Thursday.
Bucay and Zuhaire Ahmad Tarmizi finished the men's C5 49.2-km. road race in one hour, 28 minutes and 49 seconds, with the Malaysian nosing out the Filipino by a wheel to take the gold medal.
Indonesian Sufyan Saori clocked 1:30:38 to settle for the bronze medal.
"Malakas talaga ang kalaban. Magaling sa sprint (My opponent was competitive. He was good in sprint)," said the 36-year-old Bucay, who injured his hip during a local tournament in 2004.
Bucay and Zuhaire broke away from a four-man lead pack in the halfway mark and rode as one until the Malaysian sprinted away in the last 200 meters en route to victory.
Zuhaire, whose right hand was injured when it got stuck in a sugarcane machine in 2012, said the competition was tough.
"It's not an easy competition. I think I won because of my technique, skill and training," said the 27-year-old football player-turned-cyclist from the Malaysian state of Terengganu.
Zuhaire won a total of three golds, including the 400-meter Individual Pursuit and the 1-km. Individual Time Time track events held at the National Velodrome in Nilai.
Taberna of Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya bagged the silver medal in the C4 49.2-km. road race event. It was his second medal after winning the bronze medal in the ITT road race event last Wednesday.
In the 49.2-km. road race event, Taberna finished second behind gold winner Mohd Najib Turano of Malaysia. The bronze went to Indonesian Muhammad Fadli Imammuddin.
All three riders registered identical times of 1:24:11.
Meanwhile, Bucay has the most number of medals in the cycling team. He won the Individual Time Trial road event while his two other silver medals came from the 4,000-meter Individual Pursuit and the 1-km. ITT track events.
In preparation for the ASEAN Para Games, Bucay spent three months training in Tanay and Jala-Jala towns in Rizal and Pagsanjan, Laguna.
Bucay became a member of the national para cycling team in 2012, the same year he won the gold medal in the ITT and road race events in the Asian Para Cycling Championships in 2012 (Malaysia) and 2013 (India).
He was also a bronze medalist in the ITT event in the 2014 Incheon Asian Para Games.
The cycling team is coached by many-time SEA Games medalist Norberto Oconer, who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
"It was a job well-done for my riders. They did their best and I am very proud of them," said the 52-year-old Oconer, who also handles the training of the national cycling team which competed in the Southeast Asian Games two weeks ago.
Oconer has won a total of 15 medals in the SEA Games as an athlete. He started his coaching career in 2011 during the SEA Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. (PNA)
