Barba, Borja cop cycling’s silver, bronze

Joey Barba earned a silver and Michael Borja clinched a bronze in men’s downhill of mountainbike, an event the country was not likely to dominate but one which defending champion Suguianto Setyawan of Indonesia ruled practically by the skin of his teeth.

Barba, 21 of Dumaguete City, rode with a 3-cm wound in his chin and clocked a second-best two minutes and 38.26 seconds while Borja, 27 and a Tour veteran, timed 2:42.65 for the country’s first medals ever in men’s downhill in the SEA Games.

"This is one big achievement for our downhillers because this is the first time we have ever won medals in the event in the SEA Games," said head coach Jomel Lorenzo.

Mountain bike debuted in the Games in 1997 but not until yesterday at the Danao City course managed by international mountain bike commissaire Oscar Rodriguez Jr. had the Philippines earned a podium finish in downhill.

Setyawan clocked 2:36.14, barely enough to retain the gold medal. But at 27, experience gave the Indonesian some edge. "He is 27 and Barba is 21. That gives Barba the potential to achieve more in the sport," said Lorenzo.

Vietnam’s Trang Phan Thi pedaled down the 1.8-km course to a gold medal-clinching time of 3:08.30, essentially stunning favorite Risa Suseanty of Indonesia, the bronze medal winner in last year’s Asian championships in Puerto Princesa City, whose 3:22:35 was good for the bronze medal.

Sattayanun Abdulkaree of Thailand bagged the silver (3:19.35) medal in the women’s side where the country’s bet, Athena Beltran, could only finish last in a field of six after suffering a flat in both tires 400 meters into the race.