 Awesome, intense and overpowering may be an understatement of the deadly form the Filipino dart players displayed in the recently concluded HKS700,000 11th ADA International Dart Tour, last Aril 9-12, 2015, at the Kowloon International Trade and Exhibit Center (KITEC) in Hongkong.
The Philippine Dart contingent was represented by dart players from Top One Philippines (6), Team JRS (6), Team Yeahbaby (3), Team Robson (3), and Filipino darters working with Phoenix Malaysia (2), Singapore (2), and Thailand (1).
There is no official Philippine Dart Team representation recognized by the organizers for the International Cup competitions of International Team Challenge and the Super One Singles. As was the practice last year, the top three (3) ranked Pinoy players in the Men's Singles Cricket and the top player in the Ladies Cricket will form the International Team Challenge and the top ranked player plays in the Super One.
The awe-inspiring form of the Philippine players begun to unfold in the Div 1 - Singles Cricket held on the first day when Lourence Ilagan and Dixie Ibañez played in the all-Filipino finals won by Lourence Ilagan, earning them a place in the International Team Challenge. This is the first of two more events where there will be an all Filipino finals. Rounding the top 8 is Arvie Briones.
The other event held on the first day is the Cognac Cup Triples with finalists Arvie Briones, Edward Santos and a player from Singapore. They came in second losing to the team from Portugal.
The 2nd day started with the International Cup won by the Philippine Team composed of Lourence Ilagan, Dixie Ibañez, Alexis Toylo, and Angie Valmadrid-Detablan overpowering Team Japan for the championship. The International Cup is an event with no cash prize, with 16 countries vying for the honor and recognition.
The event with the biggest total cash prize is the Men's Top Gun - an Open Event for all divisions with 512 players. Prussian Arceño de la Cruz won a decisive brushing championship match over Dartslive 2014 number 1 ranked player Boris Krcmer of Croatia, in the process avenging the losses of Ilagan and Abiabi in the earlier rounds and Nebrida in the quarterfinals. Alexis Toylo came in the top 4 and joint 5th to 8th were Boy Ulang, Paolo Nebrida, and Ryan Condat. Five Filipino players in the top 8 out of 512 players is really an awesome feat! In the Ladies Top Gun, Angie Valmadrid-Detablan was in top 8.
The 2nd day ended with a demonstration of Pinoy supremacy in the L-Style Men's and Ladies' Doubles. The Men’s Doubles was an all Filipino Championship match with Alexis Toylo and JP Detablan beating Prussian Arceño and Nayr Ocampo 2-1. Arvie Briones and Edward Santos came in Joint 3rd after losing to Prussian and Nayr. The pair of Paolo Nebrida and Jason Suerto landed in joint 5th -8th spot.
In the Ladies Doubles, Angie Valmadrid-Detablan and Janjan Hinojales crushed a top Japanese duo to grab the championship. Cristi Gutierrez paired with a USA player and came in joint 5th place.
The last day started with the Divisional 501 Singles for Men and Ladies along with the Super One.
In the Super One event, the Philippine representative was Lourence Ilagan by virtue of his top finish in the Singles Cricket. Super One Singles has the biggest cash prize for the champion with HK$40,000, represented by one player from each participating country. Ilagan was a finalist but unfortunately lost an upsetting decision game to a top Japanese player in the best of 5 championship match.
The Div-1 Men’s 501 Singles was again an all Filipino Finals. The youngest player of the Philippine contingent, Pablo Nebrida at a tender age of 20 years old, showed maturity, composure, and humility in beating Prussian Arceño 2-1 for the Championship. Arvie Briones came in 3rd and Boy Ulang was in joint 5th place. Angie Valmadrid-Detablan won the Ladies 501 Singles.
Up to the last event, the Open Event Phoenix Triples, Filipino darters continued to dominate with Lourence Ilagan, Dixie Ibañez, and Alexis Toylo winning the championship. As a side note, the finals have an added attraction of winning HK$50,000 for a perfect 14 darts out. The Philippine team hit 12 consecutive bulls and with 101 left and Alexis Toylo on the line he needs a triple 17 and bulls to win the HK50,000 - a heartbreaking miss on the triple 17. Arvie Briones, Edward Santos and a Singaporean player came in joint 3rd, losing to Lourence, Dixie, and Alexis in the semi finals. Prussian Arceño, Boy Gionzon, and Andy Villamor were in joint 5th place.
The presentation for the Most Valuable Players – Men and Ladies were to be announced in the ADA Dinner Party. The MVP is an exciting climax to the very intense competition. It was anybody’s guess and for the first time in the history of the ADA it was a tie between Lourence Ilagan and Prussian Arceño for the MVP. The tie for the MVP was resolved in favor of the player with more cash winnings and Prussian was crowned as the 11the ADA MVP. A new Philippine Star Player is born. Likewise, the Ladies MVP tied, and Angie Valmadrid-Detablan won the MVP title.
Summation
The Philippine flag waves with high distinction at the close of the 11th ADA International Dart Tour where Filipinos bagged winning spots in all tournament events. Winning the Men’s and Ladies MVP was a fitting conclusion to an outstanding collective display of dart excellence driven by the spirit of Pinoy Pride. It clearly showed that honor to the Philippine darting community does not rest in one hand or in one team alone – but in the combined efforts, support, and skills of all the players and managers of the entire Philippine contingent.
The Filipino darting community is proud of our dart athletes who rose to the challenge and showed the world that in unity, we can truly attain greatness as a supreme darting nation. As the saying goes “the whole is more than the sum of its parts”. |
TUSOK BALITA ONLINE - A Publication of the National Darts Federation of the Philippines
