October 2026 – Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

Cycling’s Dangers: When Speed Becomes Dangerous

Five Sundays ago, my three best friends and I biked at the back of Cebu Doctors’ Mandaue (Zuellig Road), near Mandani Bay. It’s a 4-km. loop that’s closed to vehicles every Sunday from 6 to 9 a.m.

The entire three-lane road was ours. But we had a plan: to do drafting. We would alternate; taking turns at the front for about 30 seconds before slowing down to allow the lead rider to take in the wind resistance. This is called slipstreaming. It’s estimated that you save up to 30% energy by “sitting in.”

Sadly, in one of the alternating moves, my two best friends’ tires clipped resulting in a bad crash. My friend’s shoulder hit the deck; so did his back. It was an agonizing fall. We had to go to Chong Hua Mandaue for an X-ray and cleaning of the wounds. Luckily, no major injuries happened.

I, too, have had my share of bike crashes. The worst was over 15 years ago when my friend Celso and I biked the back of Talamban and we headed for Brgy. Guba. We were on our MTBs and were descending fast. Celso was ahead of me in a downhill when a dog crossed in front of him. He tumbled to the ground. Good thing he sustained only minor abrasions.

The week after, it was my turn in the front. In a steep downhill section, my Vellum bike hit a boulder and I flipped forward and smashed my face straight into the gravel patch. My helmet tore open. I rushed to North Gen Hospital and, with the help of Dr. Ronald Eullaran, was transferred to Chong Hua Fuente. Dr. Susan Verallo put a few stitches on my lip.

POGACAR. Two days ago and entering the Stage 8 of Vuelta a España, Tadej Pogacar had an insurmountable lead of nearly four minutes on Enric Mas. But with just 31 kms. to go to the finish in Xeraco, the unthinkable happened: Pogacar crashed. His face and shoulder hit the pavement hard and he had to abandon the race.

From near-certainty in winning to riding the UAE Team Bus and heading home to Monaco and recuperate.

What happened? Well, this is cycling. There were 184 riders when the Vuelta started the other weekend. Right now, at least seven riders have abandoned. When your tires are inches away from each other and you are traveling at 54+ kph, the margin for error is miniscule. Just one simple movement or error by a rider can cause massive damage.

This is so unfortunate for Pogacar. This 2026, he won an incredible 22 victories in 45 days of racing. And the Vuelta is the only Grand Tour that he hasn’t won. But it wasn’t meant to be.

The same thing happened to Jonas Vingegaard. In the Tour de France, he crashed in a turn and had to abandon.

The most dangerous is the downhill. These pro riders can go as fast as 100 kph downhill! I’ve been watching (almost nightly) the live footages and they’re scary. Three nights ago, in a technical downhill, Pogacar nearly crashed. Good thing he was able to brake and went to the grass area to slow down. He could have crashed then. He crashed the day after.

Mario Cipollini, the retired Italian cyclist, said it best: “If you brake, you don’t win.”

From Tennis Courts to the Kitchen: Pickleball Tips

Allen Antigua is one of Cebu’s top pickleball players. I saw this for myself last July during the La Salle vs. Ateneo friendly games at The Courts. There were over 50 players but he stood out as the best.

Coming from a tennis background helps a lot. Allen has played the game of Roger and Rafa for over 25 years and has won numerous tournaments, including runner-up finishes in ITF 35+ categories.

Pickleball? He has only played the sport for over a year now but has already finished at the podium multiple times. In the August 2026 Cebu Pickleball DUPR Club rankings, he was No. 3 with a rating of 4.322.

I asked Allen for his top three tips. Here’s what he said:

“1.) Practice perfecting serves and returns — every point starts with these two aspects of the game, whether you’re playing singles or doubles. Hitting nice, deep serves and returns sets up the point to your advantage.

“2.) Learn how to read and play the current game you’re in — you don’t always have to play a ‘slow dink’ game. Being able to identify what type of match you’re in or what playing style your opponents are deploying is essential to scoring points.

“If your opponents are bangers and like to drive a lot, be sure to keep your paddle up and have those punch counters / flicks ready.

“If you find yourself against opponents who like to dink / reset or are defensive, you may want to push and be more aggressive with your own dinks to set up and win points.

“3.) Have fun! Playing with a smile boosts your morale and perhaps even stamina after all, we’re all here to have fun with friends and family and build a positive pickleball community!”

MORE TIPS. Like Allen, my background is tennis. And we’re used to just smacking the ball from the baseline and hitting as hard as we can. That won’t work in pickleball. Your opponents will use your power against you. (One major difference between the two: with tennis, we use underspin when we volley; with pickleball, topspin volleys are preferred.)

Here are a few more tips that I’ve also learned:

4.) Be patient. You don’t have to smash every shot. The smartest shot is often the soft one and waiting for the right ball to attack is important. The goal is not to hit the hardest forehand but to win the point.

5.) Talk to your doubles partner. Just like in tennis, good communication is essential. (Two star singles players playing as individuals will almost always lose to a cohesive doubles team.) Call out “mine” or “yours” and decide who takes the middle balls. Don’t play the blame game but encourage each other.

6.) Get to the kitchen line. Don’t stay at the baseline. Move forward with your partner right after your serve or return. The kitchen line is where you control the game and win points.

7.) Target the middle. Just like in tennis, hitting down the middle can confuse your opponents and limit their angles for returning the ball.

Ironman 70.3 Cebu: Battling the Wind and Waves

It has been eight days since the Ironman 70.3 last Aug. 9, but I still can’t forget the challenges the triathletes faced.

SWIM. The swim was the toughest since this triathlon race started in Cebu in 2012.

Atty. Oliver Moeller, our relay swimmer, experienced the brutal conditions firsthand. Although the official swim distance was cut to 1K (from 1.9K — a good move!), his watch recorded 1.8 kms. because the strong current forced him into a zigzag pattern just to stay on course.

BIKE. I did the 90K bike ride and it was the most challenging since I first joined this event in 2012.

When you’re up on the CCLEX, the wind doesn’t simply blow against you. It pushes you sideways, hard enough that you have to hold your handlebars firmly as your bike begins to wobble. Your natural reaction is to slow down, but that can make things more dangerous because you become less stable.

Yet going faster has its own danger. A strong gust can suddenly push you sideways and cause you to fall. The worst stretch was going down the CCLEX towards SM Seaside.

Carlo Villarica and Mathias Bergundthal, who also did the bike relays, attested to these challenges when I spoke to them after. You experience everything—sidewind, headwind and crosswind. Then, suddenly, you get the best kind: the tailwind, when the wind comes from behind and pushes you forward.

RUN. While the first two disciplines faced major challenges, the runners—usually the ones who suffer most from Cebu’s midday heat—had the best conditions.

There was hardly any sun. It was overcast, making the 21K run much more comfortable.

My daughter Jana ran the half-marathon. She had mentally prepared herself for a hot and difficult run but ended up enjoying it. Her relay teammates were Pink Ocampo, who turned in a fast 24-minute swim, and former Cebu City Councilor Jessica Resch, who bravely took on the cycling leg despite the wind.

TRIBU SUGBU. My teammates were the same as last year: Atty. Oliver Moeller for the swim and Cebu’s marathon queen (and Olympian) Mary Joy Tabal-Jimenez for the run.

As always, we had our pre-race discussions, but this year they were even more interesting. Oliver is preparing for his first 42K marathon in Sydney this Aug. 30, while Joy has been getting into Hyrox, which happens to be Oliver’s specialty.

We were also joined by Joy’s husband, Dan Jimenez (who did the Sprint event), and their energetic daughter, Athena.

MEGAWORLD. Mactan Newtown is an ideal venue for Ironman. The newly built Mactan Expo made it even better. The race expo and awarding were held there, as was the traditional 4 p.m. (Saturday) Holy Mass. The post-race lunch was also held in a comfortable, air-conditioned venue.

And staying at Mercure Hotel, overlooking the bike transition area and just a five-minute walk from the start? It couldn’t get any better.

SUNRISE EVENTS. Behind all of this is Princess Galura, who deserves credit for once again handling the many details and pressure that come with delivering a world-class event.

Ironman Cebu reminded us that the Philippines has many beautiful places. But when it comes to staging a world-class triathlon, there is no better venue than Cebu.