RIYADH, 24 March 2005 — Triple J Express Air & Sea Door-to-Door Cargo Forwarders led by team captain Alex Suyo and team manager-gunner Joel Calayo made their presence felt when they downed formidable Ner’s Original La Paz Batchoy on the second week of the step ladder knockout semifinal games in the Manila Plaza Cup Inter-Commercial Dart Team Tournament here.
Triple J displayed awesome dart throwing to beat their opponents despite the absence of some of their key players. Their first four singles was a seesaw battle as comebacking darter Nolan Miranda took the first salvo while teammate Jess Lacson lost the second singles. Former MVP Fernando “FPJ” Castro took back the third but Nelson Callos gave away the fourth. From there, the quartet of Eding Galera, Abdul Rashid Agao, Paul Franco and Philip Agliam fiercely fought to grab all the remaining four singles matches to chalk up a 6-2 score. Ner’s, fresh from their breath taking decision victory against Kings Darters, earlier tried to salvage the doubles event but to no avail. To provide a firefighter’s way of assault, Triple J fielded Calayo to pair with Alex Suyo. Arnold Fortin then paired with Nelson Sarte followed by the duo of Miranda and Agao. MVP contender Philip Agliam joined hands with Eding Galera to deliver the final blow on the stunned Iloilo food kings. No more team event followed since Triple J already reached the winning 14 points.
Metro Star Express Cargo showed their true color when they outshone two highly rated teams to advance into the third semifinal round next week. Their first game with Quiapo Darters was a come-from-behind scenario. The first three man singles lost from their respective opponents. Pepe Ilarde stopped Quiapo’s winning momentum. A. Songcuya followed and same thing happened with the following games of Adrian Tolentino, Henry Faustino and Joel Enorasa. The doubles event went to Quiapo as they held Metro Star with just one pair. Moment of truth came when team captain Dado Corpuz fielded in the best quartet he has ever blended. The doubles started with exchanges of tonners from both teams. Quiapo were ahead by almost a hundred points when Faustino suddenly hit a T80. Same thing happened in their second game against the highly favored Absal Rebar Team. Their encounter started with Absal leading in the singles at 5-3. However, Metro Star forced a decision match for a four man team event. The same quartet that demolished Quiapo earlier were fielded in by Corpuz. The game went on with everybody holding their breath. Silence was felt all over the place when both teams reached the outing stage at the same time. Absal’s Resty Dela Pena got the first chance but missed, ditto with Metro Star’s Adrian Tolentino. Four people from both teams tried but Joel Enorasa did the same thing he did in the earlier match as he hit the deciding double 2.
Both teams will face either Jolina’s Fashion Collection or Dador’s Sports Wear and Tailoring next week.
