It's been a while since they tasted victory. However, with the so-called ‘replacements', BAI darters started to show some grit and determination by defeating Stray Warriors-2 last Friday in the second round ranking stage of the BAI (Brua Aluminum Industry) Cup Four-Man Team Dart Tournament here. BAI darters stunned Stray Warriors Team-2 (8-7): The win came early after just the triple team event that was even more surprising for the revitalized BAI darters, which banked on the quartet of Jhun Bonoan, Abel Fari?as, Tino Bechayda and playing captain Leo Canales. They blistered through the singles, taking 3 of 4 highlighted by Bonoan's win over erstwhile undefeated and MVP frontrunner Dodong Salas of the Warriors. After splitting the doubles, BAI's trio of Fari?as, Bechayda and Bonoan exploded in the all-important triple team event for the resounding win. They yielded the four-man team plays afterward though the game was decided after the triple event. Striker-1 blasted Pampanga Darters (10-5): Pampanga Darters continued to bleed as they once again yielded the all-important triple and four-man team events in losing to the hot streaking Striker-1. Pampague?os had a blazing start winning 3 of 4 singles and halving the doubles. They had the momentum going on to the triple team event and also had a chance to halt their losing streak but luck deserted them again and instead Strikers inflicted another loss which was their fourth straight and 5 of 9 overall. Afico Azintados upended Stray Warriors Team-1 (8-7): Azintados stayed unbeaten in the second round with another come-from-behind win against Stray Warriors-1. Trailing 4-7 after the triple team event, Azintados quartet of Gary Terso, Ronald Galvan, Pong de Dios and Doms Adalig went to attack early in the deciding four-man team plays and took a commanding lead which they never relinquished with De Dios sealing it by hitting the winning shot on the double-2. The highlight of the game was Warriors' ace darter Agaton Espiritu's inspiring win in the singles against Azintados' playing director Gary Terso. Other results: Striker-2 posted consecutive wins against sister team Striker-1 (10-5) and Stray Warriors Team-1 (8-7) to remain on top of the standings with 9-2 win-loss record. Pampanga Darters finally checked their slide by trouncing the unpredictable Stray Warriors-2 in their second match with a 13-2 score to even their record at 5-5 slates while fierce rival Afico Azintados took the measure of BAI darters with a playful 8-7 win, even yielding the four-man team plays since the game was already secured after the triple team event. Meanwhile, PMU darters decided to discontinue and defaulted all their remaining games in the tournament handing an outright 15-0 win to their scheduled opponents. In the Division-C/Novice Singles Event every Thursday, Roland Arciga of Pampanga darters and newcomer Dennis Veloso completed the cast of the 16-finalist on this separate tournament staged by Eastern Province Darters Association (EPDA). __
