VETERAN darts player Mao Mauricio has called attention to the challenges facing some of the country’s top local players, saying he can relate to those who are frustrated with their game while also uncertain about their direction in life.
In a post on the DARTSWORLD PHILIPPINES Facebook group, Mauricio reflected on his own experience in darts, recalling a similar period in his career in 1986 when he was among the leading players in the country.
Mauricio said he was a finalist in the 1986 Philippine Masters Cup, held on Feb. 22 at Green Mint Cafe in Quezon City, just a few kilometers from the area where the EDSA People Power Revolution was beginning to unfold.
He recalled waking up at around 6 a.m. that morning inside a darts house and nightclub in Ermita, Manila, after falling asleep there. The experience prompted Mauricio to reassess his life.
He was 29 at the time and had established himself as a prominent figure in Philippine darts. From 1979 to 1986, he earned money by promoting and organizing tournaments while also working as a sportswriter.
Mauricio said he was earning about P2,000 a month from weekly tournament winnings in 1985 and 1986, equivalent to roughly P40,000 in today’s money.
He also became known as a dart champion and writer of “Dartsworld” in Sports Weekly Magazine from 1982 to 1986.
Despite his success, Mauricio said he remained concerned about his future.
That uncertainty eventually pushed him to seek a different path. In August 1986, he left Manila and moved abroad, initially taking a job in New York before relocating to California.
In Los Angeles, Mauricio worked for a Filipino-American newspaper, eventually becoming its managing editor. He later established his own newspaper and co-published the LA Free Press with Dr. Jose Viloria Jr.
His career in the Filipino-American community also included serving as president of the Philippine-American Press Club in 1996 and working as a spokesperson and public relations representative for then Vice President Joseph Estrada in California during the 1990s.
Mauricio continued competing in darts in Southern California and won several championships during that decade, although his newspaper and radio commitments eventually prevented him from pursuing the sport as extensively as before.
He returned to Manila in 1998 to assist Estrada’s presidential campaign and is now retired.
Looking back on his journey, Mauricio offered a message that could resonate with today’s generation of Filipino dart players who may be struggling to balance their sporting ambitions with their personal and professional lives.
“Life is a journey. Follow your heart and you will never lose your way,” Mauricio wrote. (Adrian Co)
