Dayrit wins another championship

Boys Dayrit, right poses with teammate Sandy San Diego after their team, San Diego Ballers, won the One-Day So-Cal Basketball Tournament (Filipino 50-and-over, 6’4” and under division) last Jan. 16.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)_

Another month. Another championship.

That seems to be the case for former Saipan resident Bogs Dayrit after he and his team, San Diego Ballers, won the One-Day SoCal Basketball Tournament (Filipino 50-and-over, 6’4” and under division) last Jan. 16 at Rancho Cocumonga, California.

The 5’11” veteran of many commercial leagues on Saipan said they faced the team of ex-Philippine Basketball Association players Romy Dela Rosa and Django Rivera in the finals and fortunately won after losing to them in the elimination round.

“We lost badly to them in the eliminations. Romy Dela Rosa and Django Rivera played with different teams in the last tournament we won but now they joined forces. They’re a tough team but luckily we beat them in the finals despite trailing by 10 points in the early goings,” said the native of Cavite, Philippines in Filipino.

In the finals, San Diego Ballers went down 1-11 against Dela Rosa, Rivera, and company. Dayrit’s team, however, changed strategies and went man-to-man on defense. That led to a 17-0 spurt that allowed them to open an 18-11 advantage and they didn’t look back after that and won the championship running away.

Dayrit contributed 10 points in their finals win in a reserved roll. He said he didn’t mind coming off the bench as his team has been together for so long. Besides, he’s the first to admit that he hasn’t been practicing too much and is a bit rusty.

“But my teammates appreciate me and in fact told me I’m their lucky charm. But I’m really the lucky one because I have really good teammates, especially my childhood friend Gerry Cadua and tourney MVP Sandy San Diego. We were only seven in the elimination round but good thing another player arrived before the finals. He defended Dela Rosa in the championship.”

What’s next for Dayrit? He said after his dalliance with the 50-and-over tournament, he is now setting his sights in joining the more competitive 40-and-over league. But first things first, he admits he’s a bit overweight as he’s now 220 lbs.

“Need to go back to fighting weight of between 190 lbs and 200 lbs before I play in leagues and tournaments again. It’s hard to bike and 1. reserve play basketball carrying that extra weight around.”

Last Jan. 31, Dayrit also started work at Hewlett Packard, where he works in the factory line making printers.

“It’s a really good company and the pay is really high and the work is not stressful and it’s very easy. Many of my co-workers have been with the company for over 50 years already and they’re all friendly. We have free milk and juice all the time and the best thing is our bosses always show us that we’re valued employees. After three months you will also get a salary increase so I really thank God for blessing me with this job.”

Dayrit first arrived on Saipan in 1996 and worked for several companies while suiting up for numerous leagues in his spare time. He momentarily left the island in 2010 but not before winning two championships, bagging the MVP of the Mobil Invitational Basketball League while suiting up for TanHoldings, and being named two times in the same league’s mythical five. He returned to Saipan in 2016 and saw action in mostly masters leagues.