RIYADH — It was a dream come true for Dartropa's manager Elmer Parago and team captain Val Bajade Jr. when they denied the hungry Snipers Reloaded of Gary Terso and Ariel Agbunag, 2-1 in a highly contested match last weekend at the Villagio Mall here. This time anchorman Val Bajade can finally say "champion" instead of "first-runner up" at EDSA's VLOG page maintained by Allen Balladares. It was two consecutive seasons that Dartropa fell into the hands of its challengers despite establishing top posts in the previous stepladder contests. For the Snipers, it could have been a record-breaking victory after several seasons of hibernation but the team really needed more effort to surpass the confidence and hot grips of Dartropa. Cliff Caritativo, Sam Macabalang and Jun Jison quickly scored a 3-0 advantage in the singles but the Snipers answered back with a better score card (5-0) courtesy of Bomie, Benedict, Gary, Ariel and Jojo. Dartropa came back in the doubles and snatched two straight victories going for the kill in the third but the pair of Gary Terso and Ariel Agbunag refused to surrender and grabbed a doubles point to stretch the game to the last leg. Finally, Cliff Caritativo of the victors' side unrolled a S17-D4 combination for the win, 10-7, going to the second set. The Snipers surprised Dartropa in the second encounter unleashing firepower in the singles with a towering 7-1 lead. Only Manuel Acosta survived the onslaught denying Gary Terso in the sixth match with a D10 finish that silenced the legend. Dartropa retaliated with two succeeding doubles but team Snipers came back with a stronger pair (Gary/Ariel, Benedict/Bomie) denying them in the last two doubles, 11-5. Acosta's power did not match Montanez's steady grips resulting into a convincing D16 finish. In the decision match, both teams exchanged square fires in the toe line. Midway, Bajade unleased a T40 to widen the gap in favor of his team leaving Caritativo to set a timely D20 outshot. Snipers could only score as much as 133 after Ariel Laxa forced a busted dart. Bajade finally unleased the fatal shot that blew the hopes of Snipers to win this season. The audience applauded Bajade's heroic deeds, delivering for his team this season's championship crown.
