CALASIAO, Pangasinan – Beau Belga was just happy to survive a late blunder and a competitive field to retain his Obstacle Course title in Friday’s Skills Challenge of the PBA All-Star weekend.
The veteran Rain or Shine big man thought he had lost the contest after he slipped during his second-round pairing against Bryan Faundo of Meralco.
“Nung nadapa ako, sabi ko talo na ako. Pero pagbangon ko nakita ko si Bryan pumapasa pa, kaya sabi ko puwede pa,” said Belga.
He did survive the slip-up and managed to advance to the finals by clocking 23 seconds.
In the finals, Belga barely edged Russel Escoto of Columbian Dyip, retaining his title by just three-tenths of a second after registering 21 seconds to Escoto’s 21.3.
Yousef Taha of TnT Katropa finished third with 26.3.
Belga’s winning time was also faster than his clocking last year in Batangas. He was rewarded with a plaque and P30,000.
It wasn’t easy, though.
“Mas competitive ngayon kasi halos hindi nagmimintis yung mga kalaban ko,” he said, “Makikita mo yung oras halos dikit lahat. Mas intense ngayon.”
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