If there is one thing that I miss during these hot months that we call summer in the Philippines, it is the Tour of Luzon, which later became Tour ng Pilipinas.
Without Marlboro, which used to back the annual event, the Tour simply faded into oblivion.
There are still attempts to bring back those glory days of cycling where the whole nation followed what was happening from stretches of the highways in Luzon through the radio broadcast that gave us a play by play account of what was happening.
Every day, newspapers carried the graphics showing the leader and how far are those chasing him.
There were no colored spreads in the sports sections then and the graphics of the annual Tour was always something that caught the eye of the readers.
In the first half of the 1980s, Cebuano Rolando Pagnanawon from Barangay Linao, Talisay, made us proud when he won the Tour title.
Pagnanawon was a huge star. I remember seeing so many people gathered outside the Tabunok Public Market when he came home as champion.
In fact, his trophy was so huge that it appeared to be a big as him.
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In the mornings for three weeks, you can follow the Tour by tuning in to the radio.
It was not only a coverage that told us about how tough the riders were, but also subtly, it taught many Filipinos geography as we learned of the names the towns where the race would pass.
The Tour turned many newsboys, ordinary laborers, and like Pagnanawon, manangitis (coconut farmers), who became sporting heroes of the country.
In case you haven’t been following, the 2012 Le Tour de Filipinas just recently ended with Baler Ravina becoming the first Filipino of the Union Cycliste International (UCI) multi-stage race.
Well, it is not the same as the Tour of the past, but we have to make do with it until the next big one comes along.
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Aside from a box of doughnuts from a Manila-based friend, I also got an invitation to this Sunday’s blessing of the Cebu City Sports Center Track Oval when I got into the office yesterday afternoon.
After 18 years, the oval got a new rubberized track and we hope to put it to good use for a long time again.
The Cebu City Sports Center is the busiest among all the sports stadiums built around the country.
While the stadiums in some areas became white elephants after the places hosted the Palarong Pambansa, the CCSC became the center for sports activities not only for the serious athletes, but more importantly also for the ordinary Cebuano, who just wants to stay fit.
Let’s take care of the new oval. It cost the city over P30 million to replace the rubber and for the additional work done.
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MILESTONES: Belated greetings to Augusto ‘Daddy Tito’ Villa, who celebrated yesterday.
Today’s greetings go to my compadre and fellow sports columnist Alfonso ‘Al’ Mendoza and to Poppet Celdran.
Advance greetings to the many people celebrating on Friday like my mistah Cdr. Alfred Kenneth Tingabngab, Rosemarie Holganza-Borromeo, April Lyn Gabasa, Gina Silva-Babiera, Janette Climaco-Calderon, my cousin Junelia Larson, Araceli Avanzado-Ramiro, Estela Ocampo-Fernandez, Dindon Rallon, and photographer Cindy Marie Christine Fernandez.
More power to all of you!