Veteran RP Player Gerry Flores teamed up with seasoned darter, Manny Sta. Teresa to win the Classified Doubles event over the strong tandem of NDFP Mid-East Coordinator Ronnel Botor and Michael Francisco of Dubai, in the recently concluded 2nd UFDC P100K Invitational Dart Tournament held at Howard Johnson Diplomat Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE last October 31, 2008.

The team of Botor and Francisco made their hard way up the ladder from the Losers’ Bracket while Flores and partner, Sta. Teresa, were enjoying the ‘twice-to-beat advantage’ on the other side. During the classic championship showdown, Botor & Francisco managed to get the first two legs (2-0) easily of the 1st best-of-3 legs thus, clinching the way to the last deciding 701 match. With 106 left to finish, Botor threw a treble 20 and accidentally hit the 13 while aiming for the 6 & 10 for a safe set-up. With 33 left to finish, he decided to throw safely on the 17 but got busted when his last pin landed on the double. Sta. Teresa scored a 60 with 182 left thus, leaving 122 for his partner to finish. Francisco was able to reduce the previously busted 106 by 37 thus, leaving 69 on the board. Flores, fully aware of a seemingly-possible ‘twice-beaten’ situation, hit a single 18, treble 18, paused for while, moved a little to his left and hit the bull to win the ‘cardiac championship’ match and ended up screaming victoriously at the top of his lungs. The jampacked crowd roared endlessly, exchanged never-ending high-fives and handshakes, and the rest was history.

The Open Singles event was generally a battle of long time rivals of RP’s best players. Orlan Bernardino of Robsons/NDFP Middle East and currently ranked #5 in the National Darts Federation of the Philippines (NDFP) Player Ranking, emerged victorious as he took his first ever Php 100K title at the expense of RP Team Player, Gerry Flores, sweeping the game with a score of 4-0 in the best–of-7 championship match. However, both protagonists did not make it to the top easily as they had to get rid both of their opponents via decision games on the semi-final round. Bernardino took advantage of Joseph Domanais’ sorry miss on the double 16 of the 4th leg. The newcomer, showed his best form in the deciding leg as he demolished his opponent with a commanding lead until the end game. Similarly, the semi-final match-up between Joel Hizon and Gerry Flores was a spectacular one. Hizon led his way up with a 2-1 advantage over Flores and the chance to advance to the championship round but lost his last two matches to settle for 3rd place together with Domanais. Eric Flores of Dubai, the 1st UFDC Invitational Open Singles Champion, was not able to participate and defend his title due to a very tight work schedule.