Introduced in 1983, Dover Bowling Lanes (short for Domingo Vergara, the founder’s name) is arguably the longest surviving investor in the ‘ball, pin, and alley’ business in Davao region. Today, it manages a mechanically operated bowling alley along Bonifacio Street, Davao City.
Vergara, who made his fortune from repacked monosodium glutamate (vetsin) in the city, initially joined the bowling green industry by opening the eight-lane Insular Bowling Lanes in a leased structure at corner Artiaga Ext. (now Pag-asa) and Jacinto streets. When it was launched, it competed with the likes of CYO Gym (back of Santa Ana Church), Guino-o (Bonifacio Street), Fair Lanes Bowling Center (Florentino Torres Street) and Mason (Monteverde Street).
The popularity of bowling as a sport and pastime augured well for Vergara’s new business. Seeing promise in his new venture, he negotiated the lease of the second floor of Tiongko building at corner Duterte and Ilustre streets. Because of this, he shut down Insular Bowling Lanes and focused his energy in managing Dover Mega Lanes I, which he turned into a premier sports center and the heart of competitive bowling tournaments throughout southern Mindanao.
As his success grew, Vergara opened Dover Mega Lanes II along Claveria (C.M. Recto) street in a property owned by Dr. Jose Ebro. With good fortune still thriving, he decided to expand his bowling investment by opening a branch in Gen. Santos City.
But Vergara found these lease arrangements essentially unstable for business. He wanted a permanent home for the enterprise, and this meant acquiring a property. With help from Regina Dalisay Tirol (wife of 1971 Constitutional Convention delegate Ramon Tirol), a 3,000-square-meter property along Bonifacio owned by a Chinese was acquired at P3,200 per square meter, or for a princely sum of P9.6 million.
A three-story edifice built on the estate that now houses the bowling lanes, a dormitory, and an assortment of offices and establishments, stands proud as a testament to the legacy of the Vergara couple who pursued their passion for business with conscientiousness.
In private life, Domingo’s marriage bore four children, three of them girls. He also fathered a child outside of wedlock. He died on August 7, 2006, on the birthday of his son.
Vergara’s legacy in the bowling industry is expected to survive the test of time. The permanent home of Dover Lanes does not only symbolize his success as an entrepreneur and foresight as an investor; it has in recent decades become the home of national keglers from Davao region and dynamic bowling clubs such as Davao City Bowlers Association (DACIBA), Davao Tenpin Bowlers Association (DATBA), and Metro Davao Tenpin Bowlers Association (METBA).
Historically, the oldest prewar bowling alley in Davao City was first introduced at the defunct American Club, which hosted transient travelers, chiefly foreigners. The iconic lanes did not survive the ravages of World War II.
In the postwar period, the oldest bowling alley in town was the one on the ground floor of the old CYO Gym, within the Holy Cross of Davao College campus. Tradition claims former Filipino world boxing champ Gabriel ‘Flash’ Elorde was employed there as pin boy while honing his boxing skills in an area situated on the other side of the sports center.
In the 1980s, new competitors joined the bowling industry. The high-end Astrobowl was opened at Insular Village, in Lanang, Davao City, while the Laingo family launched the Double R Bowling Lanes at Quimpo Blvd., Matina, so named after the initials of the owners’ children.
In later years, three more bowling hubs surfaced. These are the 3B Entertainment Centrum at NCCC Mall, launched in 2003 but burned down on Dec. 23, 2017; the eight-lane tenpin bowling alley at Rancho Palos Verdes Country Club in Mandug that opened in 2009; and the SM Bowling Center at SM Premier Lanang, launched on Sept. 28, 2012.’
