PHILIPPINE MEN’S DART LEGENDS. (First of a series) They were the countrys dart heroes who became famous, and then they became legends. There were also some characters and personalities who, for one reason or another, made it big and became popular. All of them will always be fondly remembered for their contribution not only to the growth of darts but also for adding fire and color during those great moments in our time. Among them were Andy Mercado, Ronnie Pasola, Tony Perlas, Ike Borja, Jun Marcelo, the Eribal brothers (Mario, Cesar, Ted and Boy), Dick Odulio, Ticz Dizon, Jaime Verdejo, Lito Tan, Bobot Fontanilla, Ernie Carpio, Ben Maramag, Errol Magtubo, Logie Estacio, Nello Clutario, Peps Lapastora, Noel Reyes, Gilbert Caleon, Peter Kairuz, Jun dela Cruz, Jenny Regencia, Ogie Gozar, Egay Alejandro, the Peralta brothers, Rod Lauren, Bebot Perez and many more. While nobody knows exactly the year when darts was first played in the country, many believed that it was first introduced in the mid ‘70s as the first national men’s singles of the Philippine Cup was held in 1978 and won by Bumbi Veloso, then a high school student of Aquinas School in San Juan, Metro Manila. Veloso and Jun Caleon, another great darter known as the bullseye king in the late ‘70s, and the Ballesca brothers (Boy, Bulit, Cubie, Manny and Vic) were among the pioneers and honed their skills at the famous Red Lion Pub in Greenhills. Then came Leo Gonzales of Paranaque who topped the national open in 1979, while long-haired Ricky Castro and his cabalen Danny dela Cruz of Angeles City were the kings in 1980 and ’81, respectively. An 18-year-old boy by the name of Darren Liwanag became the toast of the town in 1982 when he grabbed the national singles crown. Castro then regained the crown the following year while Flor Aldon of the Philippine Air Force bagged the title in 1984. Aldon again reached the finals in1985 but was upset by Lito Moises of Pasig City. The next three years were ruled by the famous darters from Mindanao: Estoy Densing of Cagayan de Oro City (1986), Tata Paglinawan of Pagadian City (1987) and Dixie Ybanez (1988), also of Cagayan de Oro City. Former PhilMasters Cup champion Jake Ubaldo added another feather in his cap when he topped the national open in 1989 while DCP El Presidente Andrew Arrieta bested them all in 1990. The following are the other winners of the men’s singles of the Philippine Cup: Ed Bartiana (1991), Ybanez (1992), Joseph Domanais (1993), Angel Locsin (1994), Gale Santos (1995), Domanais (1996), Celso Parfan III (1997), RickyVillanueva (1998), Ricky Mijares (1999), Villanueva (2000), Tancho Allikoy (2001), Robert Reyes (2002), Ybanez (2003), Joel Hizon (2004), Arvie Briones (2005), Doods Tabooy (2007) and Lourence Ilagan (2011). Some of these national open champions have already retired while others are still active and playing their best in the sport we all love—darts. (We will feature next the Legends and winners of other national events: Philippine Masters Cup, PIDO, and the Philippine Open.) LOURENCE ILAGAN was probably holding a dart pin when he was born because only a few months after he started playing the sport in 2000 at the age of 22, he was already a quarter-finalist in the World Darts Federations Asia-Pacific Cup. After winning his first Philippine Masters Cup title in 2007, Ilagan won the NDF Philippine Qualifier and played in the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship. He also won the men’s singles crown in the 2010 Philippine Darts International Darts Open. In 2011, Ilagan was the back-back champion when he topped both the Philippine Cup and the Philippine Masters Cup using his favorite 20-gram Monster Gunner tungsten darts. Ilagan also represented the country with another dart hero, Christian Perez, in the 2012 World Cup of Darts. He also ruled the Hong Kong Open and the World Soft Darts Championship in 2013. The right-handed Ilagan, who is from Cainta, Rizal, is now 36 years old and widely regarded so far as the country’s best darter of all-time. (Multi-national titlist Lourence Ilagan flashes his winning form in this photo)
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 07:01:07 +0000
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