4 IN A ROW FOR VILLANUEVA IN OBSTACLE CHALLENGE
DIGOS CITY. – Jonas Villanueva, to put it simply, would not be denied making his niche in the record books a more special one.
Barako Bull’s top point guard shook off the grim threat posed by Barangay Ginebra’s Chris Ellis and Talk ‘N Text’s Pamboy Raymundo to win his fourth straight Obstacle Challenge crown at the Davao del Sur Coliseum here.
“Siguro experience ko na lang ang nagdala, kasi alam ko na kung ano ang mga gagawin,” said Villanueva, who did a pair of perfect routines in the 2013 PBA All-Stars Weekend opening event, including one in the final that netted him a time of 26.3 seconds.
“Every year kasi ito ng ito ginagawa kaya nasanay na,” he added.
That final clocking was the second-best in the event since it was institutionalized in 2003, enabling Villanueva to beat the times of Ellis (28.1 seconds) and Raymundo (30.3) and pocket the P20,000 prize.
Willie Miller wound up only seventh in the 10-player eliminations but still owns the fastest time ever of 25.5 seconds he set when he won in the 2008 edition of the mid-season spectacle in Bacolod.
Making Villanueva’s latest achievement more notable is the fact he still emerged victorious despite a bum left knee that forced him out of the Energy Cola’s last three games in the Commissioner’s Cup.
“Mahigit ding one month na-layoff kaya halos di nakahawak ng bola,” he related.
Whatever rust there may be did not show as he clocked 27.2 seconds in the elims to lead the field that included Simon Atkins, Jayvee Casio, Cliff Hodge, Ronald Tubid, Paul Lee and Mark Barroca. (NC)
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