Unheralded Mangulabnan upstages biggies

MANILA, Philippines - Little-known Marvin Mangulabnan scored a big upset over his favored rivals as he topped the sixth leg of the 2010 Philippine Underbone King Championship series at the Batangas Racing Circuit recently.

Mangulabnan, who finished third in Clark, was at his best this time, humbling top riders Maico Buncio, Johnlery Enriquez and former Underbone champion Jaime Barcial.

After Buncio and Enriquez bowed out due to engine problems, Mangulabnan stayed in front, holding off Barcial and Paul Mark Doblada going into the final stretch of the six-lap race.

He clocked 11 minutes, 37.838 seconds, nipping Doblada by just 0.037 seconds.

Barcial and Paulo Labador finished third and fourth, respectively.

The win hiked Mangulabnan’s output to 163 points as he moved up to fifth.

Trailing two-points behind in the last leg, Barcial primed up for a second Underbone crown as he grabbed the overall lead with 255 points, 14 points ahead of Buncio. Enriquez and Doblada tote 210 and 208 points, respectively.

Mangulabnan ruled the 115cc Super Stock class, edging Nicolo Ramos by just 0.082 of a second. Rays Palor placed third.

He also finished third in the MTRT 160cc Automatic Scooter class ruled by Ralph Kenneth Torres, who beat Miko Montano by 0.069 of a second.

Ivan Santiago topped the MTRT 180cc Automatic Scooter over Josh Reuben Tan and Dashi Watanabe. Paul Pangilinan and Edwin Chua wound up fourth and fifth, respectively.

For details, log on to www.batangasracingcircuit.com or contact the Batangas Racing Circuit c/o Nelson Gayola or Rodini Rivera at (632) 817-2241, 729-5365 or fax 844-7766.