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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Pinoy Darters are rocking the WORLD!


Just as how the tropical storm "Ketsana" devastated most part of Metro Manila Philippines, another Pinoy darter in the person of Ronald "Arvy" Briones wrecked havoc at the French Open grabbing the Championship title from Jean Pierre Leeuwrik of the Netherlands at a score of 5 sets to 3. Yet another feat that we Pinoys should be truly proud of. Ronald Briones or "Arvy" to his darting friends is one of the Philippines' top darters. Aside from hitting a nine darter in Malaysian Open, he has won several local and international tournaments under his belt but this recent achievement in French Open should be the highlight of his dart credentials. I am no Nostradamus but I guess the predictions in my previous posts are now happening. This may not yet be a world title but I can now feel that we are getting closer to having one. If only sponsors and international managers will visit the Philippines and scout for potential darters, we would now have a Wold Champ. Perhaps visiting the Manny Pacquiao P5 Million International Darts Classic this November is a good chance to spot prospects (just a teaser....more info in my next post).
Congratulations Ronald "Arvy" Briones! Thank you for making us proud!
French Open 2009 Top 8 :
1 RONALD BRIONES PHILIPPINES
2 JEAN PIERRE LEEUWRIK NETHERLAND
3 JERRY HENDRIKS NETHERLAND
3 GRAHAM JUDGE ENGLAND
5 PAUL GODBEER ENGLAND
5 MARTIN GOODIN FRANCE
5 TREVOR PERRY ENGLAND
5 CYRIL BLOT FRANCE

Sunday, September 20, 2009

A long way to the Oche

Little did the world know that dart has been so active here in our beautiful island Philippines. We may have sent pinoy darters to other parts of the world on several occasions but it was just lately when the darting world was thunderstruck by the talent of pinoys as far as darts is concerned. Many would argue that the world has already took notice of our talent in darts several years ago during the time of the late Freddie Deen. Indeed, Freddie Deen’s achievements were huge in itself. More so that he held the title of being the first Asian to sign contract with Unicorn as one their signature players. No doubt, the late Freedie Deen is an institution in Philippines darts, I have high respects for what he has done and his contribution to Philippine Darts. In fact, the way I see it, he was the one who paved the way to other pinoy darters to partake and excel in darts internationally. There are other names who most pinoy darters can recall whenever someone speaks about international tournaments. The likes of Mon Sabalboro, Boie Parfan, Ding Sumulong, Ricky Villanueva, Estoy Densing, Dixie Ybanez, Gale Santos, Joseph Domanais, and many others who mostly dominate the Asian circuit. But it was just recently, after Ilagan’s successful stint in Winmau World Master’s that we have caught the world’s attention. They have started to be intrigued on how deep the talent is in our archipelago. This for sure, inspired every pinoy darter to strive hard and spend more time at the oche. As I have said in my other posts, it will be in no time that the world will see a Filipino darts world champion. What they see now is just the tip of the iceberg. Sooner or later, more pinoy dart heroes will surface and the world will be more astonished. Come to think of it, Lourence Ilagan does not always win in our local competition. While he is DCP’s (Darts Council of the Philippines) # 1 (I’m assuming he is because of his recent achievements. Although the last time I checked, DCP’s # 1 is Arby Briones), NDFP (National Dart Federation of the Philippines) has Boie Parfan as top in their list. This is not to discount Ilagan’s skills and achievements but rather to point out there are still several pinoy darters who can put up a show against Lourence or any internationally ranked darter anytime anywhere. I am a BIG fan of Lourence Ilagan but I have seen him being pounded and had his fair share of upsets in several occasions. Take for example last year’s Manny Pacquiao’s 2M cup, Ricky Santiago of Cavite crushed Lourence in the elimination round denying him the opportunity to bag the biggest purse ever in Philippines Darts history. Point in case, there are quite a lot of pinoy darters whose talents are at par with international counterparts. This claim, I know, is debatable since I don’t have a database of their averages but I tell you, their darts really speak English! What they need are sponsors! Lourence Ilagan wouldn’t have made it to the Winmau World Masters if it was not because of Monster darts. Unless this big rock is hurdled, pinoy darters’ talents will just be for our eyes to see!

Monday, September 7, 2009

"Reflections on the World Masters"

To read the full article at TheOche.com, please click the link below.

http://www.theoche.com/archives/1954

Wolfie wins Winmau World Masters

Please click on the link below to read the article at "TheOche.com"

http://www.theoche.com/archives/1952

Lourence Ilagan in 2009 Winmau World Marters


Didn't i tell you that Phillipines will someday produce a world champion in darts? Well, Lourence fell short of grabbing the title but he certainly made it known to the world that he's a force to be reckoned with in the game of darts! He's worked his way to the semi's by beating BDO's top quality players in the likes of Brian Woods (3-1), Steve West (3-2), and the number 2 seeded Scott Waites (3-2). Had he not been ousted by Robbie Green in the semi-finals,he would have appeared at the oche for a championship match with Martin Adams. Well, landing in the semi's is in itself a great achievement for this young Filipino lad. Another world feat that we Filipinos should be proud of. Congratulations Lourence Ilagan! I'm sure we'll see more of you soon in the international darts arena!

Click the link below to watch the game against Scott Waites (The upset)
http://www.justin.tv/clip/1aec17fa485a796c